


Sentimentality

by FeralPrince56



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Flayn is a millenial, Fluff, Humour, Immortality, Kind of character death but like... it's been a long time so it's bound to happen, Modern AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, dimileth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25865239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralPrince56/pseuds/FeralPrince56
Summary: It's been 835 years since the war ended and yet Byleth finds herself working as a museum tour guide in Derdriu recounting the tale as if it were something she read in a textbook. It was better than all the other jobs she had in the past at least. Much better than returning home and listening to the newest TikTok Flayn had found on repeat.She's mostly thrilled to be able to see her husband every day. Sure he never answered her, and yeah he had the same expression on his face every day and- okay yeah it was a painting.Her painting never talked back to her, luckily, yet despite that she finds herself speaking with a man who's expressions did change, who did reply to her, who followed her around the museum and had an uncanny resemblance to her late husband. It did not help that he was the next in line for the throne.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 126
Kudos: 315





	1. Illusion

Despite the terrible heat, Byleth’s make up had somehow managed to stay on as she waited outside of the museum for the prince. Her huge knowledge of the area had come in handy, and even intrigued the prince. She learned that he was particularly interested in his own past and his family, and who else but Byleth to tell him about that? She witnessed so much of it after all.

Not that he knew, or anyone other than her housemates. To the outside world, she was simply someone who was so fascinated by Fodlan that she made it her life’s work to discuss and inform others about it. Part of that was true. She never wanted anyone to forget what had happened her 835 years ago.

Her efforts seemed to bear fruit, even shown by the arrival of the princes’ limousine. She stood to attention, making sure to wipe her sweaty hand on her skirt in case she needed to greet anyone. She knew she was supposed to bow to the prince. In her sleep deprived state two nights ago, her boss had made sure to know all she needed to know on how to behave. It was probably for the best, since much of it had changed or she had forgotten. Not to mention that it was others that had to behave this way towards her, once upon a time.

Her prince always saw her as her equal.

The driver walks out of the car and around in order to open the door for the prince. She was sure that he was probably pampered with all the best cleaning products offered, but she had no doubt he was going to be some snotty teenager. Although Flayn did tell her she’d read about how hot he was online, despite being unable to find any pictures.

He was also 22 by now.

So okay maybe not snotty, and maybe not a teenager. However princes and kings these days hardly needed to keep in shape like they did long ago when they were the ones fighting in battles, lance clenched in their hands.

He was probably just going to look like some kind of hot rando.

He was just another face Byleth was bound to forget.

* * *

_The day before…_

The heat was truly becoming unbearable. Maybe in a past life Byleth had come from the most northern parts of Fodlan, thriving in the harsh winters and avoiding the warmer seasons. It was impossible to tell now, she didn’t think it would be easy finding thousand-year-old documents that she herself didn’t work to preserve, but she was sure of one thing. Moving to Derdriu was a dumb choice.

She wished she could say she regretted it, but it was still the best option. Fhirdiad was full of too many painful memories for her to stay there any longer. Garreg Mach wasn’t an option either for the same reasons, and Enbarr… well Enbarr just didn’t feel right for her. It was all one nation, but she didn’t feel quite right there, even now 800 years later she could still remember the cries of her former students as they fell dead on the battlefield.

Derdriu didn’t carry that weight. Derdriu was a place of victory, a place where they had defeated a great evil and united two great nations. Derdriu was good. Derdriu had only a few, mostly good, memories associated with it.

But the summers were terrible.

No wonder Hilda never wanted to do anything. Even Byleth didn’t want to do anything in this heat.

At least she had the comfort of her shared apartment and the air conditioner she made sure was there.

As soon as she closes the door behind her, Byleth peels off the blue jacket of her work uniform and sighs, “Hey guys, I’m home. Managed to live through one more day. Are we sure we like living here?”

“Father isn’t back yet, and we are not moving again,” Flayn insists from the couch where Byleth had to assume she had been the entire day, watching Netflix and loving her decision of taking the hottest week of the year off. Byleth envied her, “At least not for another fifty years. We’ve already moved three times in the last ten years and I would like to stay somewhere for at least one lifetime.”

Byleth rolls her eyes and slumps down on the couch next to her, “You know there’s a McDonald’s everywhere now, right? If we move away from Fodlan altogether then you’ll still probably end up down the street from a fish-o-filet.”

“It’s not that,” Flayn shakes her head, “I’m tired of establishing a new identity for myself over and over again. It’s getting real hard too, and I like the life we have here. Father at least gets to work his dream job and I am perfectly content writing down all the wrong names on people’s coffee orders.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Byleth sighs and closes her eyes, “The museum is probably the best job I’ve had in centuries and the only other one of this scale is in Fhirdiad. Ugh, since when did you become the voice of reason?”

“Ha!” Flayn exclaims with a laugh, “I just think this place is neat. It’s only this week, By. By the end of it, you’ll be back to staying late nights at work because you don’t want to leave. You’d hate yourself for quitting your job.”

She did enjoy her job, that was true. If she had to recall past memories at all, and it seemed like her head was never gonna let her not do that, she could at least transform them into something productive. Recounting one of the greatest wars of all time to educate others was therapeutic to her. Talking about crests and beasts as if they were fairy tales allowed her to view her past objectively. If she had to remember her students, she could talk about them as great hero’s rather than the close friends she watched pass away one after the other.

However, her long hours at the museum weren’t the result of her boss giving her too much work or the museum having long opening hours. It was what truly drew her to Derdriu in the first place.

She had heard a few years ago that a precious painting had been uncovered by the royal family, but they wished for it to be displayed for the world. Seeing as the artist originated from Leicester, it made most sense to display it in their largest National History Museum. Naturally, she immediately applied there. She had never received a degree in history, figuring she didn’t need one considering she lived through most of it herself, and she was luckily enough to have been brought in for an interview.

Once she had convinced Seteth of the possibility of working as fisherman there and more importantly, no one recognising any of them in a city none of them had resided in till now, they all moved again and she started her work there, showing schoolchildren around during their trips, giving more information than necessary to tourists who had lingered on certain paintings for longer than others, and impressing her fellow tour guides and boss with her knowledge.

All for the sake of being able to tell Dimitri about her day at the end of her shift, when no one but the security guards could see her, and even they thought she was on the phone most of the time with how unobservant they were.

At first, she had almost stayed overnight, using her divine pulse when a guard had uncovered her and told her to go home. She had too much to tell him, too many happy memories to recall and share with him. He never answered her, which she was partially thankful for since it at least indicated she hadn’t gone mad yet. He always looked at her, smiled at her, just as he did the day she had commissioned the artwork from Ignatz.

She was grateful that the royal family had finally found it, centuries after she had hidden it away so that it couldn’t be destroyed. It was far too large for her to have taken out of the palace once she had faked her own illness and death. She couldn’t bear the thought of it disappearing forever.

“Earth to Byleth?” Flayn snaps her out of her thoughts, “I didn’t hear you come in last night. Let me guess, complaining about father this time?”

“Huh?” Byleth asks her. As oblivious as her adoptive sister was to certain things, she very quickly caught on why exactly Byleth spent so much time at work. Seteth found out immediately, and he was only angry that it meant that she would often forgo sleep or food in favour of speaking with her king, “Oh, actually I only really told him about my day, and nothing really happened. I stayed at work cos my boss was telling me about this whole special event we’re having. Apparently, the current prince wants to visit and asked for their best tour guide to explain his own history to him. So they picked me and had me show them around the museum in preparation.”

“You sure that’s the best idea?” Flayn asks, turning down the volume of the show she was watching before, expecting this to be a conversation she needed to be more engaged in, “Some rando’s are easy enough but aren’t you technically related to this guy? Not to mention the fact that he’ll probably realise you have a lot of similarities with that portrait hanging up in the palace. Unless you had the chance to remove it?”

“I didn’t have time,” Byleth shakes her head, “And I’m fairly certain it’s still there. Although… uh, I guess after 800 hundred years and everyone involved other than me having died long ago, can I share a secret with you?”

“I’m more surprised you have anything left to share,” Flayn smiles, “But do tell! I’m very intrigued now!”

Byleth sighs and looks down, now recounting her own past to someone who would have remembered something like this, “I never had a child of my own. After hearing that my dad was far older than he made me believe and realising that I hadn’t aged a day since awakening to Sothis’ power, I spoke with Rhea and she told me the truth, that unless something drastic happened I would never die. I didn’t want to force that onto anyone else, such as my own biological child, so I told Dima and he reluctantly agreed. He was excited to have an heir, but he didn’t want his child to have to live through the things we lived through. Of course the rest of the kingdom would be appalled to learn that Dima was going to be the last of the Blaiddyd line and he really wanted to have a child… so we agreed that someone else would have our son.”

“I see…” Flayn rubs her chin in thought, “I suppose he was lucky enough to have inherited most of His Majesty’s features. However, as I recall you treated his son as your own. Well, even though it looks nothing like it used to, you still refuse to live in Fhirdiad. Who’s to say what will happen when you meet one of His Majesty’s descendants? Actually I haven’t even been keeping up with the royal family, I wonder what they look like…” she picks up her phone where it lay next to her and immediately tried to gather as much information as she could.

Knowing it would take a while for Flayn to download the millions of pictures she was bound to find and keep on her phone to talk about with Byleth, she stands up and goes to the bathroom, choosing to run a cold bath to clean the sweat off of her. She was probably going to take another shower tomorrow morning right before she met the prince, but a cold bath sounded like a dream right now.

As she waits for the water to cool down, she hears Seteth coming back from his day at work from the other side of the locked door, and Flayn clearly ignoring him while she still searched for pictures, “Flayn, could you answer me while I talk to you?” She hears Seteth’s muffled voice.

“Nope. Doing important stuff,” Flayn replies, “Ugh this is impossible. You find articles talking about how fit the prince is you expect some people to be sharing thirst tweets on main…”

“Fit? Thirst tweets? By the Goddess what are you talking about this time? As I recall, Twitter is that place politicians disagree on?” Seteth tries to figure out what she’s saying, baffled by her speech, “I did not realise drinks were controversial these days. I quite like drinking tea to quench my thirst.”

Since waking up from her slumber and realising how behind she was on the culture at Garreg Mach, Flayn had promised herself to always stay on top of whatever was happening. It was easy enough to keep track most of the time, but with internet culture it became that much easier for Flayn to keep up with what was popular. That included sending obscure memes to Byleth at three in the morning and saying things to Seteth, who didn’t care for such things, that he could not understand.

“I’m not looking for tea right now, I’m looking for pics. Keep up, father,” Flayn groans, “Byleth is showing the prince the museum she works at and I wanted to see what he looks like, maybe he has His Majesty’s cheese string hair or he’s got cake.”

“It’s been hundreds of years,” She hears Seteth reply back, “I have studied genetics in my free time and from how I understand it, it would be quite a feat for him to look anything like the king we knew. Although if Byleth is indeed going to show the prince around, perhaps that is for the best.”

“Damn son don’t say _that_ , she can hear you,” Flayn says and at that moment Byleth unlocks the door and pokes her head out, seeing Seteth in the kitchen as he puts away groceries.

“Hey Seteth,” she waves at him awkwardly, “Uh, don’t worry ‘bout it though. I’m sure that even if he’s a carbon copy of Dimitri I can handle myself. I might talk to his painting but I’m not crazy… uh… that sounded bad.”

“Indeed,” Seteth agrees, “Byleth if there is anyway in which I can assist you then do not hesitate to ask.”

“I’ll be fine,” Byleth reassures him, “Like you said, he’ll probably look like a complete stranger and all he’ll have in common is his last name, that I won’t be using since I have to address him as ‘Your Highness’ all the time.”

* * *

No.

What?

No.

Her mind must have been playing tricks on her.

She heard ‘Blaiddyd’ and ‘prince’ and ‘Fhridiad’ and everything way too many times in the last couple of days.

She hasn’t even been able to talk to Dimitri these last couple of days.

But even that was just a painting. A reminder that her husband had succumbed to illness and died 800 years ago, his body long turned into dust.

So then why was he looking at her and smiling from the bottom of the steps of the museum?

No, she’d read about this somewhere. It was her mind drawing similarities and making her think that was Dimitri. It was the heat, making her confused. That had to be it. There was no other possible explanation.

She prayed that he had a really high voice, a childish one. That when he spoke to her, she would have to hold back laughter because it would be so unexpected and the illusion would break, showing her some thin, short, brown haired boy instead.

As he nears, she bows in respect, “You Highness, welcome to the National History Museum of Fodlan,” She lifts her head back up with a fake smile on her face, “I have been informed that there is one particular exhibit you are interested in. Shall we begin there?”

“I appreciate it, miss Eisner, and yes if you could, I would like to see the exhibit on the War of the Three Houses. It has fascinated me since I have heard of it.”

_Shit._

_Shit._

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._

What the hell???

It wasn’t even that he spoke in the same voice, the exact one Byleth promised herself to never forget and heard telling her to sleep well every night. He spoke in the same manner too. Incredibly polite, incredibly formal… it was too close.

She struggled not to scream, or break out in tears, or laugh just like he did when the Flame Emperor’s mask came off, “I was told to remind Your Highness and Your Highness’ guard that although these all belong to the crown, we would appreciate not approaching the paintings and statues as they are priceless to us and the country. The more they are moved or otherwise touched, the higher the chance that they will be destroyed.”

She knew she couldn’t add it, but she definitely had to hold herself back from mentioning that one painting in particular. She’d stop the imposter herself if it comes down to it.

Imposter?

Hmm, maybe it was one of those?

They did use this kind of technique but… no. Byleth and Hapi made sure to eliminate all of Those Who Slither in the Dark long ago. Shamballah was nothing but toppled over columns and a new apartment complex.

“Of course, I understand,” Dimi- the prince nods and motions over to the entrance, “Shall we proceed? I would not like to stand in this heat longer than necessary, however I will require you to lead the way, miss Eisner.”

Byleth bows her head again and leads him into the empty museum, followed by his guard. Giving them a quick look, she was almost expecting to see Gilbert or Dedue or Felix or Ingrid in the mix. She almost gave a sigh of relief when none of the men resembled any of her former students and/or allies. So only one weirdness today, got it.

Now to survive the tour and not slip up.

_Oh Dima, we’re really in it now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Fire Emblem Fandom! So... I was inspired to write this thanks to some fanart I saw that made me sad (I'll link below). It was going to be more serious, and it probably will have serious moments in it but as soon as I realised it would have Flayn in a modern setting I realised there was no chance she wasn't going to get into meme culture and roast Seteth on every occasion she had over his lack of knowledge.
> 
> Anyway this comic is sad and tore my heart out but is amazing and inspired me to think 'okay but immortal Byleth in modern setting': https://sseunbean.tumblr.com/post/626014991124922368/just-a-regular-museum-selfie


	2. Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth is doing perfectly fine as she shows her husba- the prince the museum and educates him on his own- on his families history.

“Hey Seteth, you know how you said you’d help me out if I needed it?” Byleth asks from the bathroom stall, the only place she managed to hide away for five minutes. She was lucky the prince was just as polite and charming as her late husband and that he didn’t question it at all when she said she needed a bathroom break halfway through the tour, “So there’s two things I think you could do.”

“Yes?” Seteth asks urgently over the phone, “Has something happened? I can be at the museum in no time, just say the word and I will be there.”

“N-no, I don’t need you to come here- uh, well maybe,” Byleth thinks it over, “First, can you reassure me that I haven’t gone crazy? I mean, I know Dimitri and all of our friends from back then died and there’s no way any of them would live to this day so that must mean I’m sane, right?”

“I-… I suppose that depends on your definition but yes?” Seteth replies, more as a question than a reassurance, “If it’s any reassurance, on the day of her death, Flayn and I still visit my wife’s grave and speak with her, tell her about how we are doing in this world, so it is natural for you to wish to speak to your husband as well.”

“Right,” Byleth nods, nervously biting at her nails, “In that case the fact that Dimitri is here in the flesh and replying to me would mean I’ve gone off the deep end, or I’m seeing things and I’m dehydrated. Still, this is going poorly. You, uh, you can turn into a big dragon thing like Rhea, right? You told me you could once. Think you can fly around the museum a little bit, make his security detail worry about his safety and take him back to Fhirdiad where I’ll never have to interact with him again?” She says far too quickly for Seteth to catch every word but enough that he can figure the rest out through context.

“Byleth. That is ridiculous. I will do no such thing, even if it were possible for me to do that,” Seteth says in a stern tone, “I told you to be careful, and you did not listen. I apologise, but now that you are there and have met with him you cannot leave until you are done. However, I do think these circumstances are most peculiar. When will you end?”

“Uh… Well they told me that I could take the rest of the day off once the prince leaves,” She informs Seteth, “So around 4? Probably 4.”

“I had an early shift today, so I will be waiting for you outside,” Seteth tells her, “Once you are finished, we can discuss this and go somewhere you like. What do you say?”

Well, it would be nice to get away from this place and speak with someone who could comfort her. Of course, her first go to used to be her biological dad. Then that person became Dimitri, but she needed a little more than his unresponsive portrait. Seteth to his credit did fill in for the job well, having been experienced with not just Flayn but years of students coming to him and asking him for aid. She would need to speak with him properly once this was all over, “Alright. I think Flayn had a morning shift as well. Let’s just all go to McDonald’s after this is over. It’ll be nice seeing Flayn get excited.”

“Very well then,” Seteth replies, “I will see you then. Good luck, I’m certain you can make it through the rest of the day. Try to see him like you had when you first met him, perhaps that could help.”

“Yeah, I’ll try. Thanks dad,” She hangs up the phone and puts it in her pocket. It was for the best that they ended their call now. Any longer and the prince would most likely get suspicious. He’d probably start worrying over her just like Dima would too.

She flushes the toilet and washes her hands as if she had actually used the bathroom, quickly dries them and walks out. The prince immediately stands up when he sees her walk out and smile, “Shall we continue? I’m looking forward to the next part. I have begun studying history at the University of Garreg Mach and I am hoping to write my thesis about this particular era.”

“Is that so?” Byleth gives him a fake smile, fighting herself on speaking to him like she would with Dima and on actually starting a fight with him and asking him why he’s wearing his face, “For a turbulent time, we actually do have many papers and books documenting that time. A knight by the name of Ashe Ubert had documented what he could of the war at the time at the request of the queen and archbishop. She had hoped that writing it down would prevent further conflict of that scale.”

“Was she right in doing so?” The prince asks.

Byleth smiles again, this time genuinely. She did like getting praised for her work, even if it was indirect, “There have been no wars of that scale since. Prior to this, there had been constant conflicts in the region. Fodlan was once entirely made up of the Adrestian Empire, which then split off to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and eventually the kingdom also split into the Leicester Alliance. All of it a consequence of war, I’m afraid.”

“I see,” the prince nods along as they enter Byleth’s favourite section of the museum, “I understand that Faerghus won the war, of course, after all it was my ancestor who conquered it, but how did it come to that?”

“That… is quite a long story. If you have time for it, Your Highness, I will be happy to oblige,” She says in the form of a question, and he nods, prompting her to give at least a somewhat shortened explanation, “You must understand that your ancestor was not a conqueror, rather that was the result of the war, but not his intention. He wished to bring peace to Fodlan. I could tell you more about the Saviour King another time, as that too is another long story, but for now let us focus on this,” she leads him over to a portrait of Edelgard, one she believed captured her very well. She didn’t doubt that Hubert sought after Adrestia’s finest painter to have it made.

“Emperor Edelgard believed that the Church of Seiros was evil, that it was a dictatorship thrown upon Fodlan, and she sought to destroy it. As a result, she started a five-year long war, primarily against the church, however that included its allies too. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was, of course, it’s closest ally, while the Leicester Alliance was split. Although their leader, Duke Khalid Riegan did oppose Edelgard’s rule as well.”

“I see,” The prince hums in thought, rubbing his chin as he paid attention to all the small details of the painting, “I said conqueror, and there I may have misspoke, however I heard that the Saviour King wasn’t an entirely honest man. There’s a lot of contradictory statements in the history books. However you clearly seem to be able to discern what’s true and what isn’t, so perhaps you could clarify that for me?”

This was getting trickier, not only because it was so personal to her, but also because these questions started delving into a time that Dimitri never spoke to her about. Even as he fell ill, he did not wish to speak to her about what she had missed in the five years that she was gone. He didn’t want to taint her memory of him, have her think he was a lowly beast. Think even less of him despite their first meeting after her five-year-long coma.

“That… may be a little difficult,” Byleth begins and since they had moved topics, she leads him further, over to a tapestry depicting Dimitri when the war had ended, “You see, the Saviour King had a troubled past. He watched as all of closest friends and family were murdered at a young age and later uncovered that Edelgard, his stepsister, may have been involved. He put a lot of trust in his professor at the time, but unfortunately, she had disappeared, only to return five years later, towards the end of the war. Little is known about what happened to the king then as many assumed, he was dead and even when prompted years later, it is said that he refused to speak of the past. We only know that according to him, he committed unspeakable acts that rightfully earned him the title of a monster.”

“And yet people still rallied behind him?” The prince asks and shakes his head, “I understand that he may have done great things later on but… how could they follow him after he himself claimed he was a monster?”

Was she really about to spend another lifetime reassuring someone that Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd was not a monster, that he was deserving of her love? She wasn’t sure she was ready for this conversation again, “They put their faith in him over the emperor, many of their families were killed by her acts after all, and a few believed they could bring him back into the light. Eventually, they were right. After he restored peace to Fodlan and was crowned king, no further wars were fought, no one was forced to fight in the name of chivalry and despite being married to the archbishop, the two made certain that the church would never interact with state matters again. He established the beginnings of the democracy we have today to avoid the possibility of one angry and vindictive person starting a war.”

“So it is more complex than I was led to believe,” The prince hums in thought, “I was hoping you could clarify one other thing for me. I had read that prior to the war, the queen was his teacher at the academy belonging to the church. He relied on her, yet she disappeared and when she came back, I had read that he was equally monstrous to her as he was to his other former allies. Why did she stay at all? She had no ties to the kingdom aside from teaching the prince.”

She would have liked to dodge that question altogether, saying that it was too personal or even embarrassing to say to the man that wore his face. She had to remind herself that this wasn’t supposed to be personal. He was asking about a long dead queen in order to fill in the blanks, he wasn’t asking about her feelings.

She swallows her spit and tries to remain as objective as possible, “She too believed she could bring him in from the dark. She felt guilt for not being there while he was accused of murdering his uncle, when he was sentenced, when he lost his eye and completely lost his sanity.”

“She felt indebted to him?” He asks but Byleth shakes her head.

“It’s quite complex, as I said… although of course this is me jumping into the head of someone who has been dead for a long time now,” yeah, that reassurance helped her, “She did leave behind some journals, detailing just how much she loved her husband and their son.”

Something seems to click for the prince, judging by his expression since it was the same one Dimitri made every time, he figured out something, “Their son you say? I was going to ask about this too but recently a topic that historians had wondered about was whether he was indeed hers. Was it possible that the king took a mistress, and they covered it up?”

Byleth had heard the not entirely baseless rumours that historians were delving into, although considering how well they covered their tracks, it wasn’t possible that they’d figured out that Byleth never had a child of her own, “Ah, yes, I have heard of this as well. I have some of my own hypotheses on the matter, but they are not based in fact.”

Well, that was definitely not true but it wasn’t like she was about to blurt about she knew what the queen went through because she lived it, “Do tell,” the prince asks her, “I would like to know what you believe happened.”

Was this guy really _that_ fascinated by what she had to say? It wasn’t even that interesting and yet the more she told him the more he seemed to want to know. He was getting unbearably close to behaving just as Dimitri would have, “Dimitri loved his wife more than anything else, it was impossible for him to betray her. I think that historians are incorrect in assuming he was at fault. You see, this was the first king of a united Fodlan, and the people needed him to have an heir. If his heir was not related to the queen, then perhaps it is because she didn’t want to risk him getting the illness that she had suffered.”

Immortality could be an illness, right? Dangerous side effect of having the blood of a Goddess shoved into your heart. Yeah that sounds plausible.

“I was not aware the queen was ill,” The prince questions her, “Until her death, that is. She and the king have been said to have lived long lives despite living in such a turbulent time?”

Lived long lives was putting it kindly in at least one case, “That is true, however there have been some interesting things that have been noted about the queen. For one, her hair suddenly turned a strange colour. This was attributed to being blessed by the Goddess, but today I’m not quite sure that explanation would come to pass. For another, it is said that she never appeared to age. We have been able to uncover other individuals with such a condition, and if indeed she did have such a condition, she may have refused to pass it onto her offspring. My theory is this; the queen had stayed inside for the duration of the pregnancy that was carried out by someone else and had claimed that child as her own. The public would have been appalled to hear that she refused to have the child of the king that had saved them. This is just a theory I have. I doubt how true it is, but we must not forget that these were not just heroes who live long ago, but people too, with their own fears and beliefs.”

The prince chuckles lightly, “Yes, suppose we should think of our ancestors less as words in a book or characters in a novel and remember that they were people too, with many sides to them. Ah, I believe we have a portrait of the Saviour King here, correct? Would it be possible to see it? I’ve decided that I would like to focus mostly on him. What you have told me here has truly inspired me.”

Of course it did, Byleth thinks to herself, “There are many papers that have already been written on the matter,” Byleth informs him as she leads him down the hall to the museum’s most priceless artefact. Flayn would say that it was just her opinion, but even the museum had decided that as a piece that was hidden away for centuries, it was something they needed to make extra certain they would never lose again. Never would she have suspected that he would really be this honoured thanks to her, “I can recommend some to you if you would like… however I believe it would be easiest if I passed that information online so you can have a link to them and read them in your free time.”

“Oh I would greatly appreciate that,” The prince smiles and pulls his phone out, “Ah, this may be a little forward, but could I have your number? And if I can, would it be possible for me to call you if I have any remaining questions?”

_Tell him you don’t have a phone. You’re one of those people who thinks that technology is pointless. You’re eccentric and never heard of what a phone is. Don’t do it. You don’t want him calling you whenever. Ho don’t do it._

“Sure,” She pulls out her own phone and shows him her number.

_Oh my Goddess._

“Perfect, thank you,” He types out the number on his phone, “I was only informed that your name was ‘miss Eisner’. If you do not mind, what is your first name?”

“Byleth, I am Byleth Eisner.”

“Byleth Eisner? Oh, you must be named after the Guardian of Order,” He recalls, “It’s no wonder then that you are so knowledgeable about this time,” he presses the call button so that she would have his number saved as well.

Yup, that was her. Named _after_ that person. Definitely that. Yup.

“I will try to call after your work ends so as not to disturb you, if that would be alright?” Byleth nods rather than answering, worried now that she was going to blurt out something stupid when she wasn’t discussing history, “For the sake of ease, you may save my contact as Dimitri, I do not mind.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, could you repeat that?” Byleth asks again, having momentarily passed out upon hearing his name.

“Oh if you use full names then you may save me as Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, however that is quite a handful,” he admits sheepishly, “Dimitri Blaiddyd is also fine. Ah what am I saying, it’s your phone, I do not mind what you save me as.”

“Uhuh yup, Dimitri Blaiddyd,” Blyeth nods, “Ah… I suppose then your parents decided to name you after the Saviour King?”

Dimitri… no, _not_ Dimitri. The prince, or His Highness. Not Dima. _The prince_ laughs and rubs the back of his neck, his ponytail bouncing up and down, just like Dima’s would whenever he tried to massage a crick in his neck, or even when he felt exposure embarrassment from one of her compliments. The blushed cheeks matched that too, “Yes, I’m quite certain of it. I believed both our names to be quite outdated by now, and yet here we are. Saviour King Dimitri and Guardian of Order Byleth,” he jokes and Byleth tries to smile back while keeping the vomit down.

McDonald’s wasn’t looking like a good idea anymore.

“Anyway, the painting?”

“Right yeah, the painting.”


	3. Reassurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After leaving her meeting, Byleth tries to figure out where to go from here.

The tour could not have ended more poorly. Well, she could have spilled the coffee that the prince insisted they get together on him and gotten arrested for it, then have to go to some trial were he would be there the whole time so not only would she have to watch Dimitri longer than she would have wanted, but she also see him only scowling at her and he’d have tainted the memory she had of her Dimitri. The real one. Not this imposter.

Although that wasn’t much better than the reality of the situation. She really thought that by flexing her knowledge he would grow bored and tiresome of her and drive back to Fhirdiad at lightning speed. It was the perfect tactic! He was polite enough that he’d never say anything mean about the encounter but would probably ask for a different guide and not only would she not have to see him again, she’d have an extra day off!

Of course that wasn’t what happened. The nerdy little prince was fascinated by her and the more she talked, the more he wanted to know. What a teacher’s pet!

No that wasn’t it.

She should have known that being herself, that was, teaching him all that she knew, would be the exact kind of thing that drew the prince closer. He was an exact replica of Dimitri, right down to his personality. If she really wanted to drive him away, she should’ve been the worst tour guide ever and not have answered a single one of his questions. Then she’d probably lose her job and never be able to speak with her husband when everyone had already left the two of them alone together.

In the end, the prince had made the worst decision she could have ever anticipated. He would return to Fhirdiad, only to ask to spend the remainder of his term here in order to reduce the amount of travel he would need to conduct his research and reading for his thesis, and since he was the heir to the throne, of course they were going to agree to that.

Her boss was going to be thrilled and was going to assign her as his permanent tour guide and historian, and she’ll likely get a raise. Anyone else would be thrilled in her position. She couldn’t think of that right now.

Luckily, she didn’t have to for very long when Seteth pulls up the car near the back entrance to the museum and waits for her to get inside, with Flayn already sitting in the back, typing away at her phone, “Y’all are not going to fucking _believe_ this shit.”

“Byleth!” Seteth exclaims, “What have I said about using language such as that?”

“F,” is Flayn’s only reply.

“Oh please,” Byleth rolls her eyes while Seteth drives away, “You know she’s seen worse, right? You do know how bad the internet is, yeah? Think of all of the forbidden books you threw out in Garreg Mach. Well it’s that times a million. Also lots of tits. The internet’s full of boobs.”

“I- Flayn? Is this true?” Seteth looks at her in the mirror, trying to pay careful attention to the road ahead of him as well as attempting to read his daughters expression.

“Oh you had those kinds of things available too, father! And you’re letting her distract you!” Flayn complains, pointing to Byleth, “We are not meeting up to discuss the internet and how problematic it is. We’re here to comfort Byleth. What’s up, sis?”

“There’s tentacles too,” Byleth mutters, ignoring Flayn completely, “You don’t want to know where they go but don’t type tentacles into google unless you have safe-search on. Actually don’t type in bears, otters, cats and girls… really anything into google without safe search on. Terrifying place these days.”

“We can resume _that_ conversation later,” Seteth looks back at Flayn one more time but refocuses his attention on Byleth, “You sounded extremely distressed earlier. Now that we have time, could you explain?”

“It’s Dimitri,” Byleth slumps in the front seat, “And I don’t mean ‘oh well he kinda reminds me of him!’ No. You know how Rhea was obsessed with bringing back Sothis as me and expected literally Sothis to appear but then in reality I just got to talk to her and got a dye job and immortality? Well this is the situation where some evil being decided to torment me and brought back the one and only Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. The first king of a united Fodlan. My dead husband. Oh but here’s the kicker; he has no idea who I am! He just looks at me and thinks ‘wow, we are so similar to the king and queen, how weird!’”

Flayn snorts out loud and quickly apologises, “Sorry, I know the situation is serious, but we been knew that Dimitri is a himbo.”

“Hmm,” Seteth hums, his own suspicions leading him to accidentally ignore what Flayn had just said, “That does sound rather suspicious, and I understand why you thought you had gone mad… and while I do want to believe you, are you absolutely certain that he does appear to be His Majesty?”

“Jack was there to make us coffee when the prince wanted to sit down and chat,” she tells the both of them, “Once the prince was gone, I asked him to describe how he sees the prince and even Jack said ‘either that artist of that painting predicted the future or the prince really looks like his ancestor. Guess you can’t fault the milkman for that one!’. I may have punched him in the face for that one.”

“Violence is not the answer, Byleth,” Seteth shakes his head.

“Yeah I found out that that’s how I lose my job, so I pulsed back to before I even asked him the question,” she reassures him, “So I know he looks exactly like him. I might have distorted his voice over the years in my head, but he definitely sounds like the Dima I remember. I tried to bore him with facts, but he was even more interested and now he even wants to move here. Gave him my phone number so he could call me up whenever.”

“Impulsive, head over heels, teacher’s pet, himbo…” Flayn lists off on her fingers, “I assume charming, lies to avoid hurting your feelings but ends up blurting out the truth anyway?”

“Charming yes,” Byleth agrees, “I don’t know about the lies part yes but I gotta assume yeah,” she nods further, “The only difference I’ve found between the two of them is that he has both of his eyes, although we know Dima lost his as a consequence of the war. Oh I suppose he’s less traumatised too but that might be because he hasn’t witnessed a single massacre in his lifetime.”

“Wait,” Flayn stops her from listing things off even further, “Those are the only differences? You mean to say his name is also Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd? They did not mention that online…”

Byleth nods once again, “Ding, ding ding!” She chants, “His parents thought it would be a fantastic idea to name their only son after the king they so admire. If I don’t see the king ever, I’ll just have to assume it’s king Lambert. The only explanation is that… I don’t know, the Blaiddyd family gene pool became so small they’re just remaking the same people now.”

“You know that isn’t how that works,” Seteth shakes his head.

“It’s the only logical explanation!” Byleth throws up her hands, “Well no, I know they aren’t inbred, at least not since Dimitri became king. What’s your suggestion, Seteth? How in your 2000 years of wisdom can you explain the reappearance of my human husband?”

“Magic could be involved,” Seteth concludes, “Perhaps it is as you said, and it is akin to Rhea’s experiment. However this one has worked.”

Byleth shakes her head, “Magic hasn’t been around for ages now, we’re the only remnants of it and even without practice the only thing we can do is live forever or turn back time a couple of hours in my case. Besides, if Rhea, in a thousand years, didn’t manage to revive her mother, a Goddess, with the power of said Goddess, you really think some rando with a little bit of magic knowhow is going to be able to bring back the perfect replica of a long dead king that no one but the three of us and Rhea would be able to tell was the same? What would be the purpose?”

“Why not stop questioning this and accept it as a gift from the Goddess?” Flayn asks her, “I mean… if he walks like a Dimitri and talks like a Dimitri… You haven’t changed and you said he has the same personality, so why not try to get with him again? You said that you do not have a child with him anyway, so he’s definitely not your great, great, great, great, great, great grandson.”

“He’s not, no,” Byleth agrees, “But it would be for the same reason that I have sworn off creating any new bonds since the 13th century. Even if he is Dimitri, I cannot watch him grow old again and die while I have to continue living. I am glad that I did have that time with my husband when I did. That was enough. I do not need to do it again. I’m lucky enough that I have both of you but… I can’t open my heart to anyone that walks a different path from mine.”

“Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?” the woman on the other side of the intercom asks. Byleth hadn’t even realised they got to the drive through and shakes her head.

“Honestly I’m not hungry right now. I’ll cook something at home,” she sighs and Seteth begins to give their order while she stops paying attention.

Dimitri showing up was first and foremost emotional for her, she didn’t even have time to think about the consequences when all that was going through her head was how her husband was standing right in front of her and treating her like a complete stranger. Now that he was no longer listening to her talk about their past, she could start thinking logically again.

How was he even here? Jack said he looked identical to the Dimitri she knew, so there was no chance this was just a coincidence. Was Seteth right in thinking magic was somehow involved? It would answer some questions she had certainly, but it seemed impossible.

However, if magic was involved, then it fell to her to figure out what was going on. Meaning seeing him more often, agreeing to more opportunities to go to the museum with him, or perhaps discussing history over the phone, “I’ll see if I can talk to him again,” she mutters when they drive away with their order.

Flayn begins to cough as she chokes on her food, hitting herself in the chest a few time with her fist to try and swallow down the giant bite she had taken, “Are you mad?” She says between coughs, “This is your reaction upon seeing him once and you wish to speak with him again?! Multiple times?”

“Flayn is correct,” Seteth says before pausing to take a drink from his coke, “You wished for me to terrorise the city merely to avoid an awkward situation and now you wish to perpetuate it? Would you care to explain your reasoning behind this?”

“It’s not normal,” Byleth sits up properly in her seat, “Like you guys said, it’s weird that he’s shown up again. Even if he can’t remember me or even the war, even if his parents are alive and well, even if he never met Edelgard… that’s still him. I know it is.”

“It is pretty sus, yeah,” Flayn nods, her coughing now subsided, “What will speaking with him achieve though? If there is anyone who would have caught something off about him, it’s you, and yet you’re saying he’s the same as always?”

Maybe not the same as always. He certainly didn’t appear to be the man on the brink of ruin that she had first met at the academy. From her first meeting with this Dimitri, all she could say was the he was a polite and kind man with the same mannerisms as her husband of the same name and face. Then again, she had seen some darkness in Dimitri when they first met but never had she expected how much of it had overcome him all that time ago.

Perhaps this time she was too distracted to even notice any signs he was showing of the same behaviour, “Yeah I guess,” Byleth shrugs, “But I can’t let this go. I can’t innocently believe that a man with his name, mannerisms, face, stature and even position is out there and the only thing that is connecting them is an 800-year-old family history. You must understand this.”

Seteth frowns as he makes a turnoff, and when one of his hands is free, he rubs his forehead, “I agree… to an extent. It is true that his appearance here is suspicious, but you are beginning to sound quite like Rhea with regards to Sothis. That has not ended well in the past, as you are well aware.”

Byleth shakes her head, “I’m not going to endanger anyone, or even continue interacting if I find out he’s nothing more than a coincidence. If anyone in the world is going to figure out that something’s up, it’ll be me, with your help,” She looks to Seteth, then back at Flayn in the mirror, “I can’t do it on my own. I’ll need you both to support me. What do you say?”

“Our magic isn’t what it used to be,” Seteth sighs, shaking his head, “If you need moral support, I can attempt to give you that much. If something nefarious is indeed happening, then I’m sorry Byleth, but you know I will protect Flayn first and foremost.”

“I can take care of myself!” Flayn exclaims from the back seat, furrowing her eyebrows and staring daggers into her father from the backseat, “Well, if you need my help, I will do what I can. Even help you break into the Fhirdiad palace to retrieve your relic if I must. I will go big and Seteth can go home.”

“We are all going home,” Seteth questions the phrase and looks to Byleth when they reach a red light, “Unless there is somewhere else you wish to go?”

Byleth shakes her head, “No. Not today. Let’s just go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Wow 100 Kudos, thank you so much guys!!! I think this is the fastest growing long-fic I’ve written to this day, thank you for the support, y’all are awesome!!!!


	4. Media

Byleth’s original plan for her weekend was to further familiarise herself with her new home. Since moving, she barely even thought about actually looking around the modern city and see what had changed since she was last here, fighting the Empire and saving Claude and Hilda from certain doom. She had heard that the main harbour had barely been touched since then, as the locals were able to preserve it and even the Empire didn’t have much of a chance to destroy it with the Kingdom army responding to Claude’s plea immediately.

So she was going to avoid that.

She searches for interesting spots to visit around the city on her laptop as she eats her breakfast when a message pops up from Flayn. She opens her chat, finding some kind of link inside.

**mermaid AU sent a link to I Will Proceed to Pleasure Myself with this Fish**

> **Power of God and Anime:** Have you been hacked again?
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** I already know there are desperate sluts in my area
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** I used to be friends with one
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** just look!!!!!

Byleth checks and makes extra sure her anti-virus program is on before clicking on the link. She hovers over the close window button as the page loads in case she was indeed asked to put in her credit card details for a magical penis enlargement potion but is pleasantly surprised to find it’s just an Instagram page.

Although the pleasantness only hung around for as long as the link fully loaded when she realised that the handle of the person was @King_of_Lions and before the page fully loaded, she quickly went back to her messaging app.

> **Power of God and Anime:** I thought you couldn’t find any photos???
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** i couldnt!! i swear this page didnt exist before today

Just so she wouldn’t accuse of Flayn lying to her, Byleth briefly looks back at the Instagram account and scrolls all the way down to his first post. It was a good thing he didn’t update it very often since it seemed like he’d had this account since 2015. Even on that picture he looked exactly like the boy she met at the academy. She takes a screenshot and makes a small edit in the form of a big red circle around the picture before she sends it to Flayn.

**Power of God and Anime sent an attachment to I Will Proceed to Pleasure Myself with this Fish**

> **Power of God and Anime:** You sure about that?
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** fasljhdfaj i didnt see this!!!!
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** i swear it wasnt there earlier omg
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** i def checked insta the day before yesterday cos i wanted to see what he looked like. if i saw this earlier u know i wouldve told u immediately

That was true. She never would’ve expected Flayn to throw her into the deep end like this, and her acting skills definitely weren’t good enough for her to act as surprised as she did the day before. Nor did she think her adoptive sister had any reason to lie at all about this. They both learned how pointless lying was to each other when they realised, they were stuck together for eternity. The truth would eventually come out.

If anything, she was partly grateful to her for this. In the age of social media, it was going to be so much easier for her to figure out what the prince had been up to all these years that she had completely ignored the royal family. Who were his friends? Were Felix, Sylvain and Ingrid there? What about Dedue? Duscur had long since then been rebuilt and relations with its people had improved significantly, so if everyone were somehow back, would Dedue even have a reason to know the prince?

Did he have a girlfriend? A fiancé? Was he already married? Was he going to be forced to marry another noble? What even was the tradition now anyway?

There was also the not-so-insignificant issue of his profile popping up overnight, but even with some knowledge of magic Byleth had no way to explain that. For now, she sticks to what she can do; stalking the online profiles of her kind of husband but not really. Ex-husband? No that would imply they broke up. Zombie husband? He did come back from the dead unexplained. Maybe not with rotting flesh and an appetite for brains but it was better than calling him her ex. Or her Dimitri.

Her zombie husband didn’t post much at all. Quite a lot of it was scenic, with no people in sight. Horses running across the field. The sandy beaches of Brigid from a holiday he must have gone on. The sun rising over the mountains of Fodlan’s throat from when he seemingly went on a hiking trip. A few of them seemed to be pictures of him, one from his graduation, another from his first years of college, though all of the other people in his pictures were either impossible to make out, passer-by’s or simply people she didn’t recognise.

So at least it seemed like Dimitri was the only one, otherwise she would’ve had to fear running into one of the students she had killed on the battlefield long ago. Not much better, but it did relax her somewhat. There was just one problem for her, not thirty.

It was possibly the biggest problem of them all though, especially how much he insisted on staying in Derdiu and speaking with her more on the history of Fodlan and the Saviour King.

> **Power of God and Anime:** Thank you, Flayn. Sorry for doubting you before, this whole situation is just too bizarre and unnatural to make any sense.
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** nah its ok. id probably freak out too if i saw him irl. how u holdin up?
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** Uhh, can I say not sure? I’m sad, but I’m also confused and curious and I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing or not in investigating this at all.
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** I want to run away to Sreng and hide in a hut for the next 100 years
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** But I also feel like I owe it to him and to myself to figure out whats going on.
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** That make sense?
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** oh ya totally feel u.
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** oh poop gotta go now
> 
> **Mermaid AU:** ttyl!!!! Good luck!!!
> 
> **Power of God and Anime:** thx

Going back to his page, she notices something peculiar about it that she hadn’t seen with any other verified account. Somehow his DM’s were open, even to someone like her who hadn’t followed him at all. That couldn’t have been on purpose, someone like him would get thousands of messages a day, if not more. Did a social media handler tell him to do that? The royal family must have something like that, right?

Should she tell him?

No, they weren’t friends, they were barely acquaintances. They talked for a few hours and she said she’d help him with his homework. Thesis. Whatever, point was, they weren’t close at all. How would she even explain how she knew this? What would her opening message be? ‘Check ur DM’s’? She didn’t think that Fodlan was authoritarian but if anything were to send her to jail it would probably be under an accusation of implying to send nudes to the prince of Faerghus.

She’d rather not have to explain herself to Seteth on that front.

No one else seemed to tell him though, so maybe it really was down to her to let him know about that. She could say she was curious after their meeting yesterday and looked at his social media. That was normal now, right? Everyone else did that. When she joined the museum’s employ a bunch of her coworkers sent her friend requests and followed her on twitter and Instagram the very next day. It was just something normal people did.

Not that she counted herself as normal or even people, but she could at least pretend.

In the end, she pulls out her phone and text’s the prince. Instead of going for that, she asks him another question.

> **Byleth:** Good afternoon, Your Highness. Have you been able to sort out your situation at the faculty?

It takes a minute for her to get any kind of reply.

> **Dimitri:** Miss Eisner, good afternoon!
> 
> **Dimitri:** Yes! I was lucky enough since the deadline for such requests is today, but they read over my request and have already accepted it.
> 
> **Dimitri:** I am on my way back to Garreg Mach to retrieve my things and will be returning tomorrow.

Even she didn’t dare hope that would go any differently. She’s certain that even if the deadline had passed two centuries ago the world would conspire against her and have him move here. If anything this just gave more proof to her theory that Sothis had truly left this world.

> **Byleth:** That is wonderful news, Your Highness.
> 
> **Byleth:** I will remain on standby then for any further assistance you may need.
> 
> **Dimitri:** Ah actually… since I am moving and will probably be in contact with you quite frequently, you needn’t use any formalities.

Just like her husband. Zombie husband probably would like it if she used a pet name too, huh? Not that she was about to suggest it herself. She leaves the messenger app to quickly change his name in her contacts then comes back when she sees another text from him.

> **Zombie:** I was wondering if there was any other particular reason you had messaged me right now?

Perfect, the exact opening she needed right now.

> **Byleth:** There was, and I hope you don’t think any less of me but… I checked your social media.
> 
> **Zombie:** Oh? Is there something that displeased you there?

Wow, even when she was a total stranger, he seemed to care for her comfort more than he did for his own image. She should have definitely expected something like that.

> **Byleth:** No, not that.
> 
> **Byleth:** I noticed you had your DM’s open. Is that intentional?
> 
> **Zombie:** Oh… uh… I have to admit, I’m not the best with technology.
> 
> **Zombie:** I deleted the app because I was getting so many notifications my phone battery kept on depleting instantly.
> 
> **Zombie:** It is not intentional, but I did not wish to inform anyone of the fact that I couldn’t figure it out myself.
> 
> **Zombie:** I don’t even know why I’m telling you this haha, you’re very easy to talk to.

That one hurt, a lot. Even more than that time she was pushed off a cliff, or into an empty void, or any of the times she would see her students die with the knowledge that she could turn back time and bring them back to life.

It was certainly an option now, but she was sure he’d say something similar sooner or later if he was willing to say it now, and hearing it twice wasn’t going to help her in her situation at all.

She closes her eyes, breathes in deeply and out a few times before responding further.

> **Byleth:** I can send you the instructions if you want?
> 
> **Byleth:** I can probably find them for you.

Without thinking or waiting for a reply, she does just that and it comes up as her first hit when she googles how to do it. She takes a screenshot and gets back to the chat while zombie husband is still typing. She sends him the picture and waits for his reply.

> **Zombie:** Oh.
> 
> **Zombie:** I was going to say that you needn’t do that, but I appreciate it nonetheless
> 
> **Zombie:** Thank you kindly.

There we go. Job well done. Byleth could now go down to the bakery and get herself a slice of cake then go for a walk around the city and pat herself on the back for helping out the prince and not having a panic attack or fucking it up spectacu-

> **Zombie:** Are you @FishTourneyMVP?
> 
> **Zombie:** I noticed someone of that name follow me and one of the girls in the profile picture looks a lot like you.

Never mind all that then.

When did she follow him? Oh Goddess she must have misclicked while stalking his profile and she didn’t even notice. Social media was even harder to navigate than the underground tunnels of Garreg Mach, she felt.

Would a divine pulse be considered unnecessary here? Just completely erase this whole conversation and leave him in fancam spam hell? No even she couldn’t be that cruel.

> **Byleth:** Oh haha yeah I am, my sister gave me that name.
> 
> **Zombie:** Is she the other green haired girl in your profile picture?
> 
> **Zombie:** I like the fish.

He

He liked the fish.

He saw her profile picture.

He looked at it.

And his first reaction was ‘nice fish’?

Flayn had to see this shit when she got home from her day out shopping with friends.

> **Byleth:** Thanks!

_I hate it!_

> **Byleth:** She likes fish too.
> 
> **Byleth:** A little too much sometimes.

She was going to scream. Who the hell talked like this? And why was she feeling like some teenager speaking with her high school crush?

> **Zombie:** Hahaha, I see
> 
> **Zombie:** Oh, I have some duties to attend to.
> 
> **Zombie:** Perhaps I could speak with you again sometime soon?
> 
> **Zombie:** I should be available on Tuesday? Though I do not wish to shut down the museum again, and I know that my security detail will force me to do that.
> 
> **Zombie:** I could send you my address in Derdriu when we work out the details?

So then not only did she have to speak and meet with him again, he was requesting that Byleth come over and see him privately? Most likely alone? Yeah that sounded like a wonderful idea. Of course, it was bound to happen as soon as she agreed to help him out more. If it wasn’t going to be the museum, it’s not like she was going to meet up with the prince at the local starbucks for a chat.

> **Byleth:** Sounds great!
> 
> **Byleth:** Talk to you later!

She switches off her phone before she receives a reply or any possible reason to continue the conversation further. One step at a time. That was the best way for her to tackle something of this scale, she thought. She would give herself a certain amount of time she needed to spend with zombie husband and then use the remaining waking hours of the day to relax and forget all her troubles. It was the perfect plan, right? It was fail-proof.

With that all out of the way and a semi-decent plan for her next step, she goes back to researching Derdriu and where she could go for a walk. There seemed to be some kind of park in the city, related to a queen that was from here and loved roses. It rings a bell for her but gives her no reason to fear it considering this only happened 300 years ago, so she makes that her goal. Just a nice stroll in the park, maybe meet up with Flayn once she’s done hanging out with her co-workers.

Only nice thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of next update, unfortunately my laptop seems to have trouble connecting to the WiFi at my parents home but luckily I’m moving back to my apartment tomorrow where the internet connection is far more stable so I should hopefully be able to update then 😄


	5. Apartment

On the day of their agreed upon meeting, Byleth stays in the bath for as long as she can, even as the bubbles and foam disperse in the water that’s grown long since cold. Not that she minded it in particular. She knew what Faerghus winters felt like, a slightly cold bath on a hot day in Derdiu mostly went unnoticed by her.

It gave some sense of control, some sense of peace and quiet from the outside world. With the doors closed, she couldn’t hear the noisy traffic outside that was the result on having to keep the windows open the entire time in the summer, she’d put her phone on airplane mode and just let it play whatever recommended mix she got based off her usual preferences, grabbed a couple of books and just read those until she couldn’t soak any longer.

She feels as refreshed as much as she feels like a shriveled raisin, though she’s aware that one of those feelings will go away as soon as she opens the door of the bathroom and lets the hot air in, leaving her to sweat even when she doesn’t move.

The upside of meeting with the prince was the likelihood that unlike them, he would have a working air conditioner and not have to wait a week for the repairman to come fix it.

Today’s plan was simple- try and gauge as much information from him as possible. His friends names, maybe even his professors, how life at Garreg Mach looked like now, anything that could indicate that not only he had come back, but other parts of her old life did too, unnoticed by her, Flayn, Seteth and presumably Rhea since she hadn’t bothered contacting any of them in the fifty years she’s been in holidaying Brigid.

As for the next step... she’ll cross that bridge when she’ll get to it. She needs to know exactly where she’s standing first and what she’s working with. She hardly thinks blurting out the truth to Dimitri will work either.

If anything it’s going to chase him away, which Byleth would have loved a few days ago but now that she was able to think straight, she’s glad she didn’t think of that back then.

Knowing that Flayn was back at work today, probably writing down the wrong names on coffee cups of each rude customer intentionally, and Seteth was probably still out at sea, Byleth’s comfortable walking out her the bathroom naked only to slip into her room to change, dry her hair, pack a couple of books and other important things before she sets off.

She double checks the address, before googling the best way to get there from where she was. It appeared that it was only a couple of bus stops away but having spent so much time in the bath she opts out of walking there, as she would under normal circumstances, and gets inside the bus.

As the various building’s past by her, she expects to get into even more upscale apartment blocks, which would then turn into houses before turning into gardens and finally pass by whatever mansion belonged to the royal family.

It wasn’t like Byleth herself didn’t live in an upscale area. The upside of being immortal was never needing to worry about money, especially not when banking came around and Seteth himself figured out how investments and stock markets worked. They would hardly ever disclose to anyone publicly just how rich they were, they’d become famous again and nowadays it would be that much easier to figure out what exactly they were, but it did mean they could easily move and live comfortably while working any job that pleased them.

Flayn loved whatever was popular among young adults and working at a cafe seemed relatively common. Seteth’s job reminded him of his time fishing with his wife and it was something he came to enjoy, especially with his daughter’s love of the food. Byleth realised just how much she loved teaching, and while teachers needed actual qualifications nowadays other than looking suspiciously like the daughter her father once claimed had died in a fire, a museum tour guide still fit the bill for her.

As she nears the stop she doesn’t notice that much of a change around the buildings. They were closer to the sea, but they were still regular apartment blocks like the one Byleth lived in. Maybe Dimitri mis-typed? It was certainly a possibility considering how bad he was with technology.

She gets off the bus when it stops and walks in the direction the map app tells her to, right until she reaches the door of the apartment block he supposedly lived in. She checks the street name and building number but it matches exactly what she had in her phone.

Baffled, she gives him a call and he picks up almost immediately, “Hey um... Dimitri,” she says awkwardly, still a little uncertain about the name. She hopes he’ll blame it on the feeling of discomfort from not using his formal title, “I think I’m here but, well... I’m wondering if I got the address wrong? I’m just outside the door.”

“I’ll come downstairs and check,” Dimitri tells her, and she only hears ruffling on the other side. Since he doesn’t hang up, neither does she so she remains on the line right up until she sees Dimitri on the other side of the glass door. He opens it for her and moves aside to let her in, “It appears that you've found the right address after all,” he pulls the phone away from his ear as it echoes and hangs up, “You were expecting something more opulent?”

“Yeah,” Byleth replies honestly, “I mean you hear about how grand the royal palace is in Fhirdiad, you kind of expect the prince to be able to live in something less... Airbnb? If not your own mansion, then maybe rent out a whole floor in the Hilton?”

Dimitri chuckles, leading her over to the elevator where they step in and he presses the button for the top floor, “Oh I don’t live like this out of necessity, it’s out of choice. I dread the palace. It is far too big and often times feels lonely. My entire family might be there, or all of the nobles could visit and I could probably still find myself in an empty room. I have the same opinion of the palace here in Derdriu and the one in Enbarr.”

The doors open, leading them down a corridor, “As for a hotel... if I’m honest, I’d rather live somewhere I can call home for an extended period of time than be surrounded by hotel management and monitored 24/7.”

He reaches the end of the hall and turns the key. Byleth wants to suggest he show her around when she walks through the doors, but she suspects it won’t be necessary as the place is even smaller than hers, consisting of a living room big enough to fit a three person couch, a chair, small coffee table and TV stand, open kitchen with an island that seemed to be the only place to eat and two closed doors, each presumably leading to the bedroom and bathroom, equally as minimalist as the rest of the apartment was.

“You weren’t kidding...” Byleth mumbles, “How did you even know you’d be comfortable in something like this?”

She knew the answer from her Dimitri. They lived in the palace because they were expected to, but as a former mercenary Byleth would have been more than comfortable living in her small dorm she was assigned at the monastery, and after 5 years of living alone in the run down monastery, her husband would’ve been happy just being given a pillow, maybe a blanket, and left to sleep under the stars provided it didn’t rain. Maybe a bridge if it did.

This Dimitri had presumably never been in a situation where he wasn’t privileged. It wasn’t that Byleth expected him to be a dick but she’d expect at least some of Lorenz’ or Ferdinand von Aegir’s entitled behaviour from him. Instead he chose to live like this. Byleth didn’t want to believe it.

“I didn’t at first,” Dimitri agrees, “You may think this silly but... during my teenage rebellious phase I escaped the palace, ran away and pretended to be someone else. Dyed my hair, changed my clothes but it uh... was not a good look. In any case, I hadn’t taken anything with me in fear of getting tracked down. That happened eventually, of course, but not before I experienced the kindness of every day ordinary people. A family had found me and believed that I may have been running away from something bad, abuse, crime, they didn’t question it. It was nice, so I spent three weeks cleaning, learning to cook, babysitting even. It felt good. After I was found and grounded for eternity, I decided that a life where everything was given to me on a silver platter was boring. How could I even lead a country when I don’t understand the people? I could never know what they need because I’ve never experienced a situation where I needed anything.”

This wasn’t entirely a turn Byleth expected him to take. Her own Dimitri didn’t have a chance like that, having everything he loved ripped from him at an early age and spending the rest of his teenage years thinking about vengeance and finding the real perpetrator behind the tragedy. This one just seemed like a rich kid who’s parents didn’t pay enough attention to. Good thing he seemed to still come out like the good man she remembered her Dimitri as.

“In any case, I applied to Garreg Mach university under a false name, took my exams under a false name and was accepted, requested regular accommodation and got student housing I had to share with five other students,” He continues the explanation, “Of course the secret came out as soon as I broke the news to my parents and my privilege definitely played the part in keeping me out of prison for identity fraud, but everything was already set in place and my parents agreed to let me go. I had a wonderful time, met wonderful people and that’s why I choose to live like this.”

“It reminds you of the good times instead of the bad,” Byleth concludes for him, “So still pretty rich white boy privileged but they can’t fault you for trying to get to know the people better. It helps if you realise that the biggest problem the public faces today isn’t whether tonight’s wine pared with dinner is 200 years old or only 199 years old.”

She doesn’t hear a response from him, so she turns to judge his expression and she only reads shock from it.

Oh right shit.

This wasn’t Dimitri.

This wasn’t the person who she could shit talk the nobles to and he’d laugh with her.

She had no idea if he even appreciated her speaking so candidly like this, “I-I’m sorry, that was incredibly offensive, and we don’t even know each other that well and-.”

Dimitri quickly shakes his head, “Oh, no that wasn’t it,” his shocked face slowly turns into a smile and he begins to laugh, “Your honesty was quite surprising but very much appreciated. It’s good to be called out like this.”

“Y-you think so?” Byleth asks him again, “Because I have a lot of opinions about this, opinions my employer wouldn’t appreciate.”

“Then please, share them,” Dimitri asks her, “As I said, I’ve lived a life sheltered away from the public for ‘my own good’. If there is no one to tell me how bad of a job I’m doing, then there’s no point to it at all. That being said... I have my own opinions, but I would appreciate it if they stayed within the confines of these four walls.”

Byleth smiles and nods. Yup, just like old times then, “Your secrets safe with me, _Your Highness_. Although perhaps we should first work on your thesis, then chat during our breaks, hmm?”

* * *

“Ah,” Dimitri nods his head, listening to Byleth speak while he snacks on some popcorn they made during a five minute break they took from studying, “So then peace was achieved with Almyra around the end of the war too?”

Byleth shakes her head and reaches for one of the papers she was citing from, passing it over to Dimitri, “Not quite. The king and queen of Fódlan were very good friends with the king of Almyra, which allowed for better communication between the nations. Unfortunately it would have still taken a few decades until the old generation that had lived through the pillaging and slaughter caused by both sides to forget, and since the next generation after them had fought in their own war over Fódlan, they knew peace was preferable to furthering any conflict.”

“Yes I suppose many were still upset with those who had sided with Emperor Edelgard in the war,” Dimitri mutters, “I will then write that they were friends but I mostly likely will not elaborate on that since I see little point in delving into a subject so far from my thesis.”

“It _is_ a very interesting subject,” Byleth replies, feeling a buzz in her pocket. She pulls out her phone but finished her thought before checking it, “Perhaps something you can look into at another time but if you want to keep your focus on one issue in your thesis then yeah, I agree that delving into Almyra would be a little much.”

She unlocks her phone and checks the message she got from Flayn.

> **mermaid AU:** Where u @???
> 
> **mermaid AU** : father is getting antsy
> 
> **mermaid AU:** so am i tho

Byleth peeks up at the time on her phone and notices its way past the hour she would normally be in bed and sleeping, “Oh shit I didn’t realise it’s this late.”

Dimitri turns to the clock on the wall and his eyes widen, “oh no, I apologise, I should not have kept you this long. The fault is entirely mine.”

Byleth shakes her head as she begins to pack her stuff, since she too believed it was her fault. It was a really nice day, almost reminding her of the days they spent in the classroom with Byleth teaching him lance and riding techniques while Dimitri would explain to her the history of the church, relics and anything related to crests whenever she asked for it. 800 years later it was still easy to fall back into that pattern, even if the subjects were different.

“No, no, I wasn’t checking the time either. I only set a timer for the popcorn earlier but didn’t even think to look at the time,” Without trying to put everything in her bag neatly, Byleth stuffs it with whatever papers she wasn’t leaving with Dimitri. She quickly sends a text to Flayn saying she’s on her way before looking at the time again, “Oh no...” she mutters.

“What’s the matter?”

Byleth shakes her head and goes to google a taxi service, “Its nothing, the buses stopped running so I’ll have to get a cab back, hopefully they have some available to come here soon at this hour-.”

Dimitri interrupts her and stands up, “It is I who kept you here for so long, allow me to make up for that. If you tell me where to go I can drive you back to your home myself.”

“No, you don’t have to do that,” Byleth insists, looking for any kind of reliable taxi service.

“I’d feel better if I did,” Dimitri replies, trying to persuade her, “It’s the middle of the night, it might not be safe for you.”

Byleth wants to snort at that but manages to stop herself at the last minute. She might not have trained in a few hundred years, but she can still put up a good fight and even if someone were to stab her she could stay conscious for long enough to travel back in time and undo that.

Although it would be nice to not have to waste her energy like that or have to worry at all. Plus she was guaranteed to be home sooner, “Yeah, alright, if that makes you feel better. Thanks.”

“No need to thank me,” Dimitri smiles and closes his laptop before getting his shoes and jacket while Byleth finishes packing.

Once they’re all done, they walk downstairs, and Dimitri leads her to the underground garage. He walks to his car, opens the door for her then goes to his side and gets the driver’s seat of what was undoubtedly a new and very nice car. Byleth didn’t expect much less from the royal family even if he insisted on a small apartment, but she didn’t know enough about cars to put any kind of price tag on this or know whether that would be expensive. It was black, shiny, smelled new and that was all she could comment on if Flayn or Seteth asked her once she got back.

She preferred horses as a form of transportation anyway, but that was unlikely to happen in this day and age.

When Dimitri asks her to, Byleth puts her address into the navigation system and they drive in silence, the fatigue of speaking all day only catching up with them now that they had actually realised how long they had talked for.

The silence is comfortable, somehow. Byleth blames it on how her eyes are slowly beginning to shut, making her quickly realise something, “Wait aren’t you tired? I don’t want you to fall asleep behind the wheel on your way back.”

Dimitri shakes his head, “To be honest, I don’t sleep too well, so I’ve gotten used to forcing myself to stay awake when I’m tired. It’s only a ten-minute drive, it should not pose too much of a problem for me. I do appreciate the concern, however.”

He pulls up to her street and stops at the door to her apartment block, “It’s here, yes?”

Byleth nods and unbuckles her seatbelt, “Yeah, this is the one,” she can think about the implications of him knowing her address when she isn’t trying to actively stop her eyes from shutting, “I guess I’ll see you sometime soon again.”

Dimitri smiles, “Yes, thank you very much, _Professor_.”

She smiles back, reaches for the door handle to open it and

Wait.

No.

He didn’t get to call her that.

Not now.

Not _him_.

“Umm...” with the knowledge that she could be speaking without a filter, Byleth focuses extra hard on her next few words, fighting through the fatigue, “This might be an odd request, and while I understand it was meant to be endearing, could you not call me ‘Professor’? I, uh, have some memories associated with that and I don’t want them coming back right now.”

The memories were going to come back regardless, but that was too much.

Luckily for her, being the exact copy of her husband, Dimitri understands and nods, “Very well then, I’ll keep a mental note to avoid saying that in the future. Thank you for the help, Byleth.

With that out of the way and her stress levels going back down again, she smiles back at him, “the pleasure is all mine. Goodnight... Dimitri.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for not updating earlier, my internet at my parents house has been janky all holiday and wasn't even really functioning last week, but now I'm back at my apartment so I can update this!
> 
> That being said, next week I start uni courses, so I may not be able to update in three days again while I adjust but once I'm back in the swing of things in a week's time I should be back on track :D


	6. Rest and Relaxation

The incessant knocking on her door was starting to get to Byleth, having begun about 15 minutes earlier. The whines of the person behind it weren’t helping either, “Come on, you promised you would take me. You’re not going back on your word now, are you? Or are you going to tell me you prefer moping in your room like you have for the past week?”

“I’m ill, leave before you catch it too,” She lies, faking a cough afterwards, albeit unconvincingly.

“It is the Blue Sea Moon, how could you possibly have caught a cold?” She practically hears Flayn shaking her head on the other side, “I would like to see the ocean, swim with the fish and go snorkeling like you promised we would for my birthday.”

That was today? In between her work, sitting in her room whenever she wasn’t eating or working and sending Dimitri articles that she had found, she barely even kept up with the date. They weren’t even halfway through the Blue Sea Moon and they already suffered one heat wave. How was she going to survive another?

A trip out to the beach would solve that problem, and as long as they stayed away from Dimitri’s apartment, it shouldn’t cause her too much anxiety.

Begrudgingly, she gets out of bed and opens the door, finding Flayn ready in a top and shorts she could quickly remove at the beach, sun hat and a bag full of snacks, drinks and the sunscreen Seteth definitely made sure she had for this day. Shame he couldn’t join them, “I’m gonna need a moment,” Byleth tells her, looking down at her own pyjamas she hadn’t had a chance to get out of, “If you haven’t already, look up where the nearest beach is, or just whichever beach you want to go to and how to get there.”

“On it,” Flayn nods and pulls out her phone and begins typing things in, Byleth closing the door to get changed.

Looking through her wardrobe, she can’t help but think about the words Dimitri left her with. Professor? What was he thinking? She was just helping him out with his homework, not actually teaching him. Was it supposed to be endearing? It definitely was. Was it supposed to just be a joke? Was he trying to charm her?

It definitely worked.

Except now he was probably nearing end of his thesis. He told her he just needed to read through it again two nights prior, then he’d be sending it off, going back to Garreg Mach or Fhirdiad or wherever it was he was going to live, eventually become king and forget that someone as insignificant as her ever existed. Maybe mention her once or twice in casual conversation as that strange girl with green hair who knew way too much about history and had a cool fish on her insta pfp.

That would be perfect.

Right?

Then why did Byleth hate that idea? She had her Dimitri. He was in the museum, he was in her heart, and she would never forget him. Why did she care about some discount, off-brand version of him?

Zombie husband was just that, wasn’t he?

He had to be, for Byleths own sanity. She couldn’t spend another lifetime with him knowing one day he would be gone again and Byleth would keep going, pretending like she never knew the man. If he was just some imposter wearing his face, then figuring out what he was doing here was Byleths only concern. She could bury those stupid feelings until he was gone and she proved that his reappearance in this century was some weird genetic fluke.

In the mean time, between her near constant concerns about Dimitri, she manages to dig out her bikini from the bottom of her drawers and quickly changes into those, then grabbing the biggest t-shirt she could find and simple shorts that she could easily remove as soon as they got to the beach.

Finally, she finds a big sun hat in her wardrobe and grabs that, as well as a pair of sunglasses and flip flops, ready to actually do something other than her job in the first time in a while.

She leaves the room and finds Flayn once again on the other side, “So, found some place?”

“There’s a beach near the market, I’d quite like to go there for lunch and to get snacks. Although it is near a beach known for festivals and parties, so... um...”

Byleth shakes her head, “Dimitri only really partied whenever I or someone else dragged him there. He’s the only Blue Lion I’ve actually seen so far and he only came here to do his thesis. We aren’t going to run into him. Besides, with these sunglasses and hat there’s no way he’d recognize me,” she looks down at Flayn’s phone and releases a sigh of relief, “he also lives in the opposite direction so I doubt he’d be in that area on a casual stroll too.”

Flayn grins and turns to the door, “Famous last words...” she says in a song-song, “Worry not, if your side-ho shows up I’m sure I can protect you somehow!”

“He’s not my-!” Byleth starts but isn’t even sure how to end that. If they even were to date, which they wouldn’t obviously but let’s say they would, what would he even be to her? Husband back from the dead? Boyfriend? Or like Flayn eloquently put it, side-ho?

Eh, not like there was much reason to contemplate that.

It was never going to happen anyway.

_Famous last words._

Right.

* * *

Even after grabbing takoyaki from the nearby market, Byleth was amazed that they could find a spot at the beach again with very few people. Sure, there was some party going on further down playing popular music but it was distant enough that the noise didn’t bother her or Flayn at all.

“Is everyone working today?” Flayn asks while she lays down her beach towel and places her takoyaki on top of it, only to help Byleth with their beach umbrella carefully as to not get sand in her food, "I didn't expect the beach to be this empty on a weekend in the summer."

“I think people just don’t want to be near those drunk guys,” Byleth points to the group of party-goers further down the beach, “They don’t seem to be bothering us anyway, and otherwise this spot is pretty relaxing and empty.”

“Save for that man coming over,’ Flayn says once they’ve got the umbrella buried deep enough in the sand that it won’t fly off with a small gust of wind, “I hope he will not be sitting near us.”

“What man?” Byleth turns around and sees what Flayn meant by someone approaching them. At first he seemed to just be wandering in their general direction, possibly to get away from that party, but the closer he gets, the more Byleth can make out. The white button-up shirt that he was wearing with all of the buttons undone, the wavy pattern on his blue swim trunks but most importantly, the face of someone far too familiar, “Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

Flayn looks up again and cocks an eyebrow, “Oh... I see. Yes that is definitely His Majesty, in all his himbo glory. Would you like me to leave? It seems that fate has plans for you.”

“Honestly I wouldn’t put it past Sothis to fuck me up on this. So no you have to stay here and suffer with me,” Byleth mutters quietly through a fake smile, enough so only Flayn can make it out when Dimitri gets too close to them.

“Hello, Byleth!” He waves with a smile and quickly shifts his gaze to her sister, “You must be the fish friend, yes?”

“Oooh, fish friend, I like that!” Flayn grins and Byleth shakes her head in disappointment. She stands up and reaches her hand out to Dimitri to shake it, “I am Flayn Eisner, Byleth’s sister.”

“Dimitri Blaiddyd, nice to meet you Flayn,” he shakes her hand back, “I hope Byleth hasn’t shared too much about me. I feel that I might come off as a bit over-enthusiastic.”

“Huh... not a ghost then,” Flayn looks down at her hand with dejected eyes, “Byleth has told me plenty of things!” She suddenly beams up at him, “All good things I promise!”

“I’m happy to hear it,” Dimitri looks back towards the party and points at it with his thumb, “I’m pleased to have met your sister, however my intention in coming here was actually to invite you over to where me and my friends are celebrating the end of classes and exams. I saw you at the market when we were picking up some more supplies but I was too busy to ask you then and hoped to see you here. Didn’t know I would be so lucky to have that come true.”

“Yup, you sure are one... lucky man,” Byleth continues to smile, hurting her own cheeks from possibly overdoing it, “But I cant. It’s actually Flayn’s birthday today and I said I’d do some things with her. Maybe next time?”

There won’t be a next time. He’s done, he’ll be going back to Fhirdiad with his buddies and fall back into the cushy life of-.

“How about tomorrow evening?” Dimitri asks, “This gathering ended up being impromptu when we discovered we were all here already, but we were going to officially celebrate tomorrow evening.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for us to crash a college party...” Byleth tries her best at finding a good argument for why her, alcohol, social pressure and Dimitri were going to be a god-awful mix.

Not like she was going to know anyone else there either so she’d be clinging to Flayn or Dimitri all night too.

Unfortunately, Dimitri chuckles and waves her spoken concern away, “They aren’t all college students, in fact a lot of them graduated before but they were able to take time off work to visit me and some of our mutual friends here in Derdriu. I’m sure you would fit right in.”

“Well-.”

“We’d love to!” Flayn interjects, “I have never been to a college party before, sounds dope! I’m certain Byleth is just overwhelmed at the thought because neither of us have attended such large gatherings for some time. We’ll definitely be there, right By?”

“Apparently we will.”

“Perfect,” Dimitri pulls his phone out from a pocket in his trunks and texts her the details, “This won’t be at my apartment, it's a little too small for that, so I have sent you the time and place the party is starting. If anyone there asks, tell them you’re my guests,” someone starts shouting for him from the party and he looks back, only to wave at them, “That must be my cue to leave. I look forward to seeing you both tomorrow.”

With that tragically handsome smile of his, Dimitri leaves the two girls and makes his way back over to his other friends while Byleth and Flayn settle down on their towels to enjoy their Takoyaki, “Why did you accept?” Byleth asks, “You know Seteth is gonna flip when he finds out?”

“I can convince him,” Flayn waves her hand dismissively, “He allowed me to fight in a six-year long war only a few years after I awoke from my deep sleep. A college party is nothing compared to that. As for why I accepted, you wish to find out why he is here, don’t you? What better time to do that than when he’s under the influence of alcohol and surrounded by the people he has decided to spend his time with in this lifetime?"

Huh.

She hadn’t actually expected that level of insight from Flayn of all people.

“You think he knows something about this?”

Flayn shrugs, chewing on one of the Takoyaki, “It would not hurt to ask if you’re certain he won’t remember. At the very least you could try and see if he remembers anything from his former life.”

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with this…” Byleth admits, “I mean, isn’t that kind of using him?”

Flayn shakes her head, “I am not saying you drug him, I’m saying that this is a party meant to celebrate the fact that he has finished all of his classes and exams, right? He is bound to be drinking whether you’re there or not. You may as well try to get some answers from him if you can. I do not see the harm in any of it if all you’re doing is asking him questions in a state that his own actions will lead him.”

“And what if he doesn’t drink at all?”

Flayn tries to make her own questioning expression speak for itself before further elaborating when Byleth doesn't pick up on it, “Unless he has joined a trend in this time that wasn’t around 800 years ago, I seriously doubt that. You of all people should remember what happened when Sylvain said that Dimitri should celebrate him getting married to you a week prior to the event.”

“I recall him saying I’m too hot to die… before trying to hug me and almost destroying a pillar in the process when he missed...” Byleth replies with a sigh, “Not that I support this idea but I agree that seeing him in his new surroundings might give us some insight to what’s going on. We’ll pop in, say hello, have a few drinks, try to find anything suggesting foul play and leave because you’re feeling feverish.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“Because if I say I’m feverish he’s probably going to want to take care of me and there’s no chance I can handle that,” Byleth explains, looking back towards the party on the other side of the beach, “I’m just hoping this’ll all end soon when it turns out to be the weirdest of wild coincidences, and I can go back to my quaint, normal immortal life of staring and talking to a painting. Is that too much to ask for?”

* * *

Further down the beach, Dimitri returns to his smaller group of friends that had set up their own towels just on the edge of the rest of the group. Two of them holler at him, one shakes their head at the two but the last one is completely ignorant to what was going on, “Aww damn,” The two energetic friends say.

“Guess we’ll never meet your girlfriend who lives in Sreng and we wouldn’t know her cos she went to a different school?” One of them teases.

“I never said such a thing, and right now she’s looking after her sister but said she might join us tomorrow for the party,” Dimitri folds his arms, “Anyway, aren’t you working today? I specifically remember you saying that you didn’t trust them choosing a DJ so you would choose the music yourself.”

His points over to the DJ booth where someone else had taken the duties over, “I trust him enough with this, and I _did_ come here to party, and uh… well visit my family. But mostly drink until I couldn’t remember what I did for my research project.”

“That explains the Nicki Minaj and Gaga…” The other mutters, looking from the booth back to Dimitri, “Well, if your Sreng girlfriend-.”

“She’s from Fodlan!” Dimitri counters.

“Sorry, _fake_ girlfriend,” He rolls his eyes, standing up, “If she’s not here right now and you’re not actually dating then that means you’re free to come with me, Felix, Claude and Hilda to the bar to buy some of the lovely class of 2020 drinks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued~
> 
> Uni has started for me in full force and I've had very little time to do much besides updating things I had already written prior and studying, so I apologise for the month wait!


	7. Fun in the Sun

“I take offense to that,” Dimitri complains, much to the joy of Claude, Sylvain and Hilda.

“Good, it was intended to offend,” Felix throws back at him.

“Anyway,” Claude tries to steer the conversation back on track, specifically to discuss their plans for tomorrow evening, “We getting everyone tomorrow? I know some of the others got caught up back at the academy.”

“I’m not the one hosting,” Dimitri shrugs, genuinely unaware of what to expect for this event. She said she would handle it all herself, and Dimitri had to trust her for that, “I was just told to invite whoever I wanted. You’re on the chat, you should know who said would be there. But knowing her... I would assume word has spread enough that everyone would be showing up.”

“I have it muted,” Claude declares, "It's always full of spam, and none of it even remotely interesting. You know I get most of my updates from you, Sylvain or Hilda now."

“Saaaame,” Hilda adds, “I pop in sometimes but its such a snooze! Anyway, I guess it’ll be more fun as a surprise then! We’ll get to meet up with the others and find out who Dima’s fake girlfriend is!”

"She's not my girlfriend!"

* * *

“You were supposed to say no!”

“Why?”

“Because you always say no!” Byleth argues back at Seteth. Much to Flayn’s delight, of course Seteth had agreed to let them both go to the party and have plenty of fun, “It’s a college party, you know, alcohol everywhere, drugs probably, adult, sex-driven men.... that’s a terrible environment for Flayn!”

“Flayn is over 2000 years old, not a child who's easily influenced by bad role models,” Seteth replies back, “With our enemies gone and no wars, I have little reason to fear that something will happen to her given both her abilities and your time travel. If something were to happen, surely you would make sure it didn’t.”

“Okay, true,” Even Byleth couldn’t pretend like she would actually let something happen to her little sister, “What about drugs then? Flayn is super into meme culture, aren’t you worried she’ll... I don’t know, take a pot needle or something?”

“Frankly it concerns me more that you believe something like a pot needle exists than the idea that Flayn would take drugs. Perhaps an environment with more educated young adults could do _you_ some good,” Seteth sighs, “Not to mention mind altering substances don’t work quite as much on us as they do on mortals, so no, I have no fear of that either.”

Byleth folds her arm, “You’re being an irresponsible father.”

“ _You’re_ trying to find an excuse not to be around Dimitri,” Seteth throws back at her, “If that’s all you need... then fine, tell him that I forbid Flayn from going, but I think it is a foolish idea to waste this opportunity. If you fear it so much I can drive you there and stay in the car nearby in case you need to escape. Would that help your anxiety?”

She hated when he was right. Unfortunately, Seteth was right most of the time and would always find the exact right words so that she could do nothing but admit he was right. At least with him there maybe she could leave quickly if it got really bad.

“No,” Byleth shakes her head, “The last 800 years have made me soft. I mean... Dimitri and I managed to take down both the Silver Maiden and the Stubborn Old General and now I can’t even go to a party? Ugh,” she rubs at her temples when her head starts to pound, “I mean... I would rather just fight the imperial army all over again than deal with this but... now isn’t the time to be picky.”

Sitting down next to her on the couch, Seteth puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Byleth, you are not alone in this. Perhaps you have softened in the last 800 years as you say, but this is an unprecedented issue, and times have changed. So much so that I will not run away at the first sign of danger, which is why Flayn and I are here to help and support you. You understand that, yes?”

“I do.”

“It is not a sign of weakness to allow us to help you when we are more than happy to do it. So please, say what it is you need us to do and we’ll do it.”

Byleth sighs again and looks to Seteth, “Okay. Well... I do actually have something of a plan, and it’s not entirely legal which is why I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it god you owe me or something. This is the prince we’re talking about so it could be dangerous. Are you sure you want to put yourself and Flayn in that situation?”

“I can count on you to break me out of prison, can I not?”

Byleth chuckles, “The rare Seteth joke, you must be serious about helping me then. Alright... so while Flayn and I are at the party, there’s something I need you to do.”

* * *

Without warning, Byleth’s door opens to reveal Flayn on the other side in a bathrobe, hair all over the place, mask on her face carrying a bag full of whatever she had in store for her sister, “you may be wondering why I have come in here.”

“I’m more frightened than anything else. Go on,” Byleth turns in her desk chair away from her laptop, “The bag worries me the most.”

“You know how I locked myself in my room last night and didn’t come out till morning?”

“Yeah, I noticed that, but you’re also a young adult in the 21st century and functionally my sister so I didn’t want to think about it too hard and prefered not to question it.”

Flayn starts taking out her supplies and places them on Byleth’s desk, “Stop being nasty. I was watching make up tutorials! This morning I left to get all of this and I am going to do your make up! It’ll be a wonderful experience.”

“I don’t need make up,” Byleth sighs and it was a point of pride with her. Having the blessing of the Goddess did seem to relate to clear skin, so at least she had that going for her, “going there is torture enough. You know I only put it on for important work events. This isn’t work. Or important.”

“You suuuure?” Flayn asks in a sing-song, “I can make you really pretty! Not that you're already not pretty just... okay fine, I really wanted to try some new stuff and you are the best guinea pig I could ask for. Father is reluctant to let me try this stuff on him and told me to ask you first...”

“You know what? If it’ll make you happy, go for it,” As amusing as it would be to leave Seteth to Flayn's mercy and experiments, she knew he'd be even more concerned by Byleth's lethargic behaviour. She stands up and walks to her door, “but first I’m having a shower. You... set up everything? I don’t know, I only use the basic stuff. Have fun,” She waves at her before going to the bathroom.

Somehow, miraculously, she doesn’t end up getting into her own head in the shower to convince herself to not go.

No.

Byleth wasn’t viewed as the hero of Fodlan for cowering away at the first sign of trouble. Byleth Eisner faced all her problems, even when she was thrown into a chasm of unknowns. Literally and metaphorically speaking.

She fought a demon, or whatever it was Edelgard had turned herself into, and won. She commanded entire armies and turned the tides of war when no one else could.

A party with her formerly dead husband who couldn’t remember her?

That’s exactly the kind of weird and dangerous she dealt with for breakfast 8 centuries ago. Times may have changed but her willpower certainly wasn’t going to.

She leaves the shower feeling refreshed and bursts open the door to her room, startling Flayn, “Alright. Do what you have to. I refuse to stay in the shadows and cower in fear any longer. This is just a stupid party, not Those Who Slither in the Dark. Let’s do this.”

Flayn claps and bounces around her room, grabbing all kinds of bottles and brushes, “Perfect! Please, take a seat and allow me to copy exactly what I was watching!”

With little reason not to distrust her, Byleth sits back and for the first time since this whole fiasco had begun, sits back and relaxes. War preparations certainly felt different now, but 800 years ago they didn’t phase her, and they weren’t going to now, “Flayn? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“So... I know what I have to do if there really is some malevolent force behind this,” There was no question she had to stop that kind of evil, even if it meant Dimitri would be gone once more, “But... what if there isn’t anything wrong? What if Sothis is somehow behind this, her way of thanking me or something? Do I ignore it? Accept it? Spending another lifetime with him might be a terrible idea but... should I pass up an opportunity like this?”

Flayn hums, pinching at her cheeks to get her to smile before putting on some blush, “Could you bare to lose him once again? If you distance yourself as you have been now then perhaps that pain will remain as dull as it has been over these last years. If you were to ignore him, could you honestly tell yourself that a hundred years from now, once the opportunity to speak with him has passed, that you won’t regret it?”

Not that she even knew that Dimitri even wanted her in his life in any significant way. For all she knew this was just his way of thanking her and after the party she would only ever hear about him over the news, maybe watch his sensationalized inevitable marriage to some noble girl.

However if he did intend to at least get to know her more, she definitely needed some kind of plan. Would she let him? Should she let him?

“I suppose it won’t matter if this does turn out to be the evil workings of those who slither in the dark, or anyone else with ill intent,” Byleth shakes her head when Flayn is busy putting a brush away and looking for another one, “If I decide to have any kind of relationship with him, platonic or otherwise, I best not get my hopes up. That can be a future Byleth problem.”

“Yes,” Flayn agrees, “Current Byleth’s problem is finding the right thing to where,” she turns the girl around in her chair and points her to her wardrobe before pushing her forward, “I will leave you to find something while I prepare myself.”

With newfound confidence, Byleth finds exactly what she wants to wear pretty quickly- a simple little black dress given how hot the evenings have gotten now in Derdriu.

She hears the doorbell ring, but once she hears Seteth’s footsteps making their way over there she decides to let him deal with whoever that was.

Maybe it was finally that damn AC guy.

Once she gets dressed, blow dries her hair and brushes it, checking herself in the mirror and appreciating the surprisingly good job Flayn managed to do, she leaves her room to search for her bag and shoes.

Instead, she finds the last person she even expected to see in this fiasco standing at the door to the apartment after Seteth had opened the door to let them in, “What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to write more for this chapter before posting it but also today's already been such a weird day for me that I decided I might as well post it as is.
> 
> Also I really apologise for how long its taken me to update anything. I've been working on a project and uni has really been kicking me in the butt with how much workload I have. I can't promise I'll be updating soon again but I'll try my hardest to get at least a few more chapters in before the end of the year. My goal is to finish this fic completely before the new year :D


	8. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning here- this chapter contains a looooot of spoilers from various routes, not just azure moon. While this fic does follow azure moon in general, there is some information taken from other routes that doesn’t appear during the game in the blue lion route specifically. If you haven’t played the other routes and don’t want to be spoiled then be warned.

“Good evening. I see that my visit is not welcome at this time. At least it does not appear to be in your eyes, Byleth,” Rhea steps through the door that Seteth closes behind her, “I wasn’t aware you would be going anywhere tonight.”

“Yeah well, unlike you I actually tell people when I plan to fuck off to do my own thing,” Byleth spits out, refusing to let go of the eye contact she held with Rhea even when Seteth tells her off.

“Byleth! I know you’re angry at her, we all are but you could at least-.”

Rhea shakes her head, “No, you’re right, you’re all angry at me and you have every right to feel that way and express your anger in your own way. If Byleth’s is to shout expletives at me until she grows red in the face then so be it. I will not stop her from doing so, I do not have that right.”

Instead of doing just that, as tempting as it was, Byleth walks past Rhea and reaches for her coat, “You know what? I think I’ll feel much better if I just blow you off completely this evening. I have very important plans I need to keep and even if you’re here as the incarnation of the fourth rider of the apocalypse well... death is just going to have to wait that extra day because right now I don’t have time for your bullshit.”

“I suppose that even though this should not wait, it must,” Rhea sighs, “I will be waiting here for you, if that is fine by you, Seteth, until you are ready to speak with me.”

“Don’t get too hopeful,” She finally looks to Seteth, “Tell Flayn I’ll be waiting in the car waiting for her.”

Before she can get a response, Byleth slams the door behind her and takes the stairs down to the ground floor, marches to the car and gets into the drivers seat, waiting for Flayn. When the other girl doesn’t show up within the next five minutes, not that it was likely given that she wasn’t ready and her preparations were bound to be slowed by Rhea’s unexpected appearance, she begins fiddling with her phone and opts to text Dimitri.

Goddess, she could really use his advice right now. Not that this one would know what was going on, but if maybe she phrased her messages right he may give her some advice.

**Byleth** : Hey, I’m almost on my way, just waiting on Flayn, had some complications.

Of course, he texts her back immediately. Maybe he was head over heels for her in this lifetime too.

**Zombie** : I am sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?

**Byleth** : You sure you want to hear this? It’s not very interesting.

**Zombie** : I do want to, yes.

**Zombie** : If you’re worried about me having something more important to do, then you needn’t worry yourself. I do not.

**Zombie** : I’m currently stuck in a room with a friend who has been trying to pick a jacket to wear. During a heatwave.

**Byleth** : Haha, sounds like you could use the escape too.

**Zombie** : Please.

Despite herself, Byleth can’t help to giggle at that. She couldn’t even imagine who this friend possibly was, but it’s exactly the kind of thing Dima would say to her, and only her, when they were silently dishing to each other at some formal event they were both obligated to attend.

How exactly was she going to phrase this? My 2000+ year old grandma is back in town after holidaying in Brigid for the past 50 years and leaving my family to figure out what to do now? Oh also she experimented on me and my parents and that almost blew up in her face. Also she’s a dragon

 **Byleth** : My aunt just showed up. To say we have differing views on certain subjects would be putting that generously.

**Zombie** : I can relate to that. You do not wish to see her right now?

**Byleth** : She’s quite high on the list of people I want to see the least right now, yeah.

**Zombie** : I see... is she staying with you?

She never asked but that seemed to be quite likely. There was a good chance she’d even be awake by the time the girls got back.

 **Byleth** : Most likely, yeah.

**Zombie** : If you don’t wish to face her then you can always stay here overnight?

**Zombie** : It’s not my small apartment. It’s a very large estate with multiple bedrooms so you’ll have all the privacy you need.

That did sound tempting, and even that lowered the chance of her doing something incredibly stupid. Maybe she could even convince Flayn to stay the night too so they could come up with a plan on how to deal with Rhea together.

 **Byleth** : I’ll need to ask Flayn, but I’ll consider it.

**Byleth** : Thanks :D

**Zombie** : It’s no problem at all :-D

The car door opens at that point and Flayn gets into the passenger seat, having opted for some kind of loose graphic crop top that even Byleth didn’t understand and jeans, “I thought you might have taken a little longer all things considered.”

“I am not as close to Seiros as you might think. Not anymore at least,” Flayn shakes her head, “I am grateful she took me and my father in all that time ago but that doesn’t mean I agree with her actions. Including what she’s done to you. Father told me you had decided to put that conversation on hold, therefore so shall I. Now then,” she turns away from Byleth and looks out the window in front of them, pointing ahead, “Lets fucking gooooo!”

Byleth laughs and makes a mental note to later reprimand her and remind her that Seteth didn’t appreciate that kind of language around the house. But since they were away from all of that, it was hardly an issue now.

She turns the key and puts in the address she got from Dimitri into the navigation system before setting off, “He offered that we could stay over, by the way. What do you think? My guess would be that this party is taking place in the city center, where the alliance lords used to meet up. No doubt that belongs to the Blaiddyd’s now and they treat it like a holiday resort.”

“That or the imperial palace in Enbarr, yes,” Flayn agrees, “I shall leave that decision up to you. Father is on speed dial should anything happen, however I doubt that will be necessary. This is merely a reconnaissance mission.”

Byleth’s phone pings so naturally Flayn picks it up, unlocks it and reads the message she received out loud for her, “It’s from ‘zombie’... seriously?” She questions but when Byleth doesn’t give her an answer, Flayn goes back to the phone with a roll of her eyes, “He says to not be surprised that he’s not at the door because he’s not the host so someone else might be there instead. This is bound to be awkward.”

“Can’t be worse than your dead husband coming back to life,” Byleth mutters loud enough for Flayn to hear, “Tell him that’s fine, and that we’ll take him up on that offer of staying over. Whatever we find at this party can’t possibly be worse than coming home, possibly drunk, to speak with Rhea. If it does come down to that though... you’re driving. And I’m passing out on the couch as soon as we get back. Rhea is morning Byleth’s problem.”

“I assumed as much.”

The next few minutes of the drive are quiet, except for the popular music Byleth puts on the radio when she randomly chooses a station. At least she’s fairly certain it’s popular music, she hadn’t been paying attention that much but it played in shops quite often. Its been happening with her more and more, unable to recognise what was popular anymore and at certain times even struggling to keep up with Flayn’s terminology.

A weird realization hits her and since it gives her a chance to think about something other than events that happened centuries ago, she uses it to break the silence, “Am I a boomer?”

Flayn snorts when she hears the question, “I suppose that you did get into everyone’s business back in Garreg Mach but... you did take responsibility for your own mistakes and still continue to do so to this day. You... hm. It’s kinda hard to say what generation you would belong to today.”

“Rhea’s a boomer.”

“I cannot argue with that,” Flayn nods with a wide smile on my face, “Do you think she’s a Karen? We haven’t seen how she acts in 2020 but I could see her behaving like one.”

“You... you gotta assume so, right?” Byleth giggles at the thought of it, “I could see her asking for the manager during the war. Complaining to Hubert about the water not being ‘locally sourced’ or something.”

“Knowing her? Most likely,” Flayn agrees, only to be cut off by the navigation system telling them that they’re a right turn and 500 meters away from their destination. Byleth drives on just as the navigation system told her to and ends up in a secluded area from the city, driving past an opened gate where the asphalt had suddenly disappeared and they were surrounded by trees.

Driving slowly, Byleth reaches the mansion at the end of the road and parks her car near the other cars that were there as well. She could already hear the music coming from the mansion inside her car before she even cut the engine.

“Well,” Byleth turns off the engine and stops her navigation system. She grabs her phone and shoves it into her purse, “We’re here now. Got any stealthy plan going forwards?”

“I was just planning to have fun,” Flayn shrugs, “However... if you wish, you may try to distract Dimitri or get some information out of him while I search the place. Hopefully these students will be inebriated enough to not notice what I am doing.”

“I’m not entirely sure if Dimitri has much of a connection to this place, so I’m not sure what looking around will do to help us solve this, unfortunately. He mentioned that he isn’t the one hosting this, someone else is. A friend perhaps.”

“I can still search,” Flayn insists, “His friends could be some modern-day form of the Blue Lions, or they could all secretly be Agarthans brought back to life, or their distant relatives. A search here isn’t unwarranted.”

Byleth shrugs, “We kinda did a pretty good job over the last 800 years in getting rid of them, but if you really want to put your neck out there then okay. But text me every half hour if I don’t run into you. Otherwise I’ll Divine Pulse us out of there, got it?”

“Got it.”

They open the doors of the car and leave at the exact same time, Byleth’s heart pounding a million times a minute. Despite her previous words, she was still stressed about what exactly she’d find on the other side.

A normal college party? Most likely.

A cult? Also possible.

All of her former students? Probably not.

Yet there had to be some explanation for Dimitri being here, and she knew the answer to it must lie somewhere in his own surroundings.

Nervously, she steps up to the door and rings the doorbell, hand shaking. She holds her breath when the door opens but releases a sigh of relief when she doesn’t recognise the dark haired man opening the door for her, “Hey, I’m guessing you’re Dima’s friend, and his friends sister, right?” The guy asks.

Byleth manages to give him an earnest smile, though a lot of it was the relief of seeing someone completely normal, “Yeah, he invited both of us.”

“Happy birthday, uh... Flayn, right? I think he said that’s your name.”

“Thank you very much,” Flayn nods with a grin.

“Are you going to let her in or not?” A female voice asks and pulls on the door to open it further. The man moves out of the way with a chuckle as the woman makes room for Byleth to come in, with Flayn following after her.

“Hmm,” the brown haired woman looks Byleth up and down before she smirks, “I can see why my idiot of a brother would like you. I’ve heard you’re well versed in history as well, at least according to him.”

“Dimitri has a sister?” Byleth cocks an eyebrow. As far as she was concerned, he was an only child... for the most part of his childhood anyway.

The woman extends her hand, “Oh did he not mention? I’m the one who decided to host this party. I’m Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dima’s step-sister, and I must say I’m quite disappointed that he has failed to mention me to you at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points to whoever can guess who greeted Byleth at the door!
> 
> Also just to make sure- I do actually like Rhea as a character, here Byleth is very angry at her right now which is why she is being so harsh towards her.


	9. Reflection

Time stopped.

Not in the way time stops in a movie when the guy sees that perfect girl from his dreams and can’t think of anything else in that time.

No.

Byleth needed a time out.

So she gave herself one.

Edelgard stares back at her, unmoving, behind her stands the dark-haired guy, who, now that she had any reason to think that at all, had some similarities to Felix. His eyes were the same, his face was a little softer though and as memory serves, he seemed taller too. Could this have been Glenn?

There hadn’t been any uprising, no wars. No conspiracy to undermine the church. No Agarthians. No blood experiments. No crests.

These were all the people she met in Garreg Mach 800 hundred years ago and more, just as they should’ve been at the academy.

Of course this Dimitri wasn’t her Dimitri.

He couldn’t possibly know what loss is.

Speaking of which, when she’s able to calm down somewhat, Byleth walks past Edelgard and into the party, finding Dorothea dancing on a table while Ingrid looks up at her smiling, surrounded by some other students she’d seen at the academy but never got to know closer.

She moves to the next room where Caspar and Balthazar are locked in an arm-wrestle, Ashe cheering one of them on, Linhardt leaning against the wall clearly not caring much for this kind of entertainment and Raphael apparently ready to wrestle whoever the winner ends up being.

In the kitchen, Dedue’s checking out some food in the oven while Hilda fawns over it and Bernadetta tries to take a peak herself. Another girl seems to be more interested in the cake on the table, one Byleth doesn’t fully recognise until she remembers Lysithea too was experimented on, and the white-haired girl she met all that time ago must have been naturally a brunette just like Edelgard.

Finally, she finds Dimitri in a corridor, with Sylvain’s arm around his shoulders while Felix is in the middle of rolling his eyes, presumably as a result of Sylvain’s sexual escapades and whatever plans he had for Dimitri.

That did still make Byleth wonder then- without her in the picture, without any tragedy in his life, was he happy? Was he happy with someone?

Looking at the three, there was only one thought that went through Byleth’s head.

I truly hope you’re happy here. This is the life you’ve always deserved. All of you.

She’d never gone back in time a few hours, and in that moment she was almost tempted to erase the last few months, turn down the museum tour and let Dimitri live out the rest of this life peacefully- without the interference of an immortal.

She can’t.

Not yet at least.

Maybe Dimitri was happy. Maybe this was the best time of his second life. But she couldn’t let that happen if there was some evil curse causing all of this.

Her Dimitri would want her to fix everything.

With a deep sigh, she closes her eyes and lets time move forward just as it should. When she reopens her eyes, she’s back at the door, being greeted by a welcoming Edelgard, “I’m Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dima’s step-sister, and I must say I’m quite disappointed that he has failed to mention me to you at all.”

“We’ve been mostly discussing his paper,” Byleth explains, not exactly lying either. She wanted to know about his family but there never seemed to be an appropriate time to do so, “Hopefully he’ll be able to tell me a little more now that he’s done.”

“Of course,” She lets Byleth and Flayn in while Glenn closes the door behind the two, “There are refreshments in the kitchen, Dedue has insisted that he’ll cook food for everyone so if at any point you’d like to eat I would ask him. Otherwise... I hope you enjoy the party.”

“Thank you,” Byleth smiles and waits till Edelgard walks away to turn to Flayn, “Everyone is here. The entire monastery is at this very event.”

“You did fail to mention that His Majesty wasn’t the only one who came back...” Flayn points out as she glances around, “I assume you had no idea either. Did you use your power?”

“I stopped time,” Byleth confirms, “Dimitri is down that corridor,” she nods in his direction, or at least where he was two minutes ago, “I didn’t check every room but I can’t imagine that there is someone who’s missing. Even the Ashen Wolves appear to be here. Edelgard and Lysithea were never experimented on so they look different but everyone else looks exactly like they did when we encountered them during the war... oh save for Dimitri’s missing eye.”

“So they’re leading their lives as if the Agarthans never interfered with them...” Flayn trails off, “Hmm... there is something I would like to investigate here, but perhaps it’s best if I leave you in the dark about it for now. I will tell you tomorrow, once we head back home. Unless you are unwilling to stay the night?”

“I don’t think it’ll make a difference,” Byleth shakes her head, “I’ll be over-thinking this either way. I trust you, Flayn. Do what you need to do, just stay out of trouble.”

“Worry not, detective Flayn is on the case,” She gives her a little wink before leaving and disappearing into the crowd.

Now, Byleth’s original goal was to try and encounter a drunk Dimitri who might reveal to her how he got here, but given that everyone else had shown up too, any one of her students would do. If anything, this was better- if multiple drunk Golden Deer, Blue Lions, Black Eagles or Ashen Wolves had the same story, it would confirm to her that someone was messing with her and her past.

If everyone had different stories... well someone was still probably messing with her but they’re even better at doing it then she expected.

This was good. Kind of.

People always look for a larger group of test subjects, don’t they?

Yeah that’s what she could try and think of them as.

They’re data points.

Not students she once slaughtered on the battlefield.

“Byleth!” Dimitri’s voice breaks her train of thought when he appears out of nowhere. Well, she knew exactly where he was but ended up so caught up in her own emotions she must’ve blanked long enough for him to come find her, “I’m grateful that you were able to come in the end. I’ve been informed that you’ve met my sister already?”

“I wasn’t aware you had one,” Byleth comments, which was only half a lie. She knew his relationship to Edelgard. She had no way of knowing he still had that relationship with her, “But yes, I did meet her, she seems pleasant.”

“You had no way of knowing,” Dimitri tells her which somewhat puts her at ease. Kind of. Not really. At least she’s able to play along and not look like a complete tool from the wrong century, “It’s a mostly well kept secret in the family, however most of our friends know and I told her that she could trust you not to say anything either. I am correct in thinking that, yes?”

Byleth nods, “I have no one to tell. I guess maybe in a hundred years when we’ll need your family history for the museum but I don’t think you’ll care by then,” she doesn’t even bother hiding her own thoughts about it all. She knows he’ll think of it as a joke and laugh it off, which predictably is exactly what he does.

“I suppose that by then it won’t be any of my business,” Dimitri agrees, “Ah, I apologise, I may not be the host but it is still rude of me not to offer. Would you like a drink?”

No.

Say no.

You do not want to drink right now.

You’re going to do something stupid.

You’re going to say something incredibly stupid and you will hate yourself in the morning and you won’t be able to divine pulse.

“After the day I’ve had, I would love to have a drink. Show me what you got.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to everyone who guessed correctly, and thank you all for indulging me in guessing!
> 
> I apologise for leaving you all on a cliffhanger, a lot of things happened and I got extremely busy as a result but! I did manage to write two chapters and I'll be posting both of them tonight!


	10. Discussion

_“Beloved?”_

_“You know you must wake sooner or later.”_

_“It’s unlike you to stay asleep for this long.”_

_“Byleth.”_

_She wakes with a jolt but the soft pillows and the warmth around her try to desperately pull her back. The words that hit her once she’s had a moment to think don’t let her. She turns her head and finds Dimitri lying next to her. His face seems rougher, his hair messier and the scar on his eye is clear. It was her Dimitri again, not some future copy of him, “You know you cannot drink your problems away.”_

_“It means I won’t have to think about this mess for some time at least,” Byleth indulges him. She knows he’s not real. At least not anymore, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him go so easily, “What would you have me do?”_

_“You were always the one to make decisions that were far wiser than my own,” Dimitri reminds her, running a hand through her hair, “You need to stop treating us like a stranger.”_

_“How?” Byleth asks him, “How could I ever treat him... you... as the same person? You aren’t the same, even if you do share a name and a face. He’s not you. He won’t be you.”_

_“Then be prepared to never receive an answer to your questions,” Dimitri turns away and climbs out of the bed, “If you cannot do this completely, why bother at all? You’re only hurting yourself in all of this.”_

_“I don’t...” Byleth starts, sitting up in the bed herself, “I...”_

_“You don’t want the truth.”_

_“I don’t.”_

_“Why not?”_

_Byleth gets out of the bed and walks over to him, “I’m not ready to lose you all over again. 800 years later I’m still searching for you, still speaking to you. I can’t go through another one of your lifetimes with the knowledge that I’ll keep walking the next 800 years without you again, as much as you would insist I need to do that. If he’s just a figment of my imagination then I’m wasting my time anyway. If he’s really you... I can’t leave, but I can’t stay either.”_

_“Stop it,” Dimitri shakes his head, “This isn’t you. Keep on acting like this and it won’t be up to you whether we stay or go. You’re better than this.”_

_What do you know?_

_She almost says it to him but she holds back. Not that it matters. They both know what she’s thinking anyway. She was wrong. This wasn’t her Dimitri either. It was her imagination of a person long gone, only manifested to argue with her and give her an echo chamber._

_Not that he proved to be a good one._

_“Stop pitying yourself. It’s pathetic.”_

_They aren’t Dimitri’s words, but rather her own, and not intended for him either._

_“What do you intend to do?” This time Dimitri asks her._

_“We need to talk,” Byleth concludes, “I need answers and only you can give them to me. Maybe you’ll run away, or think I’m crazy, but that’s alright. I owe it to you to make sense of all of this and I owe it to myself to finally give myself closure. Are you happy now?”_

_Dimitri’s smile slowly turns itself into a chuckle, just when he brushes the hair out of her eyes, “Beloved, we are both aware that you don’t seek my approval for anything. You never have.”_

_“I guess this is just another war I’m going to drag you into, isn’t it? Well, here’s hoping this time I don’t wake up five years too late with a pounding headache.”_

* * *

When she does awake, it’s in a completely unfamiliar bed. The only other person sharing the bed and the room with her was Flayn, thankfully, and she vaguely even remembered asking if the two could stay in the same room for the night.

She could hear some laughter coming from downstairs, presumably the hosts of last nights events and a few of their friends. She gets up, ignoring as best she can the sick feeling and headache that immediately made themselves noticeable to her and looks in a mirror. She does what she can to fix her hair and straighten out her clothes before leaning over and shaking Flayns shoulder.

The girl stores awake, eyelids barely moving, just enough to see her, “Byleth?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I’ll be downstairs and we can go soon, there’s just something I have to do first, okay?”

“Take all the time you neee-,” Flayn’s sentence is cut off with a yawn and soon enough she’s lightly snoring again.

Yeah Byleth was gonna have to come back and wake her up again once she was done, or worst case have someone else get the girl for her.

She leaves the room and makes her way downstairs where she sees Edelgard, Hubert, Dorothea, Linhardt, Dimitri and Sylvain all sitting around and drinking tea in the clean living room. Apparently royal housekeeping worked fast.

“Byleth!” Sylvain cheers when he’s the first to see her come downstairs, “Looked like you were having fun last night. I’m not wrong in thinking that, am I? I’m usually pretty good at reading people.”

Byleth nods politely, “Uh, yeah it was great, really nice to meet all of you,” She didn’t want to wait around any longer. It was time to rip off the band-aid, “I actually need to leave soon but could I talk to you before I go, Dimitri?”

With Sylvain and Dorothea around, she tries to choose her words carefully as to not make anything sound too suggestive, and with Edelgard, Hubert and Linhardt there she’s careful with not making her tone sound too serious either.

Dimitri, thankfully, doesn’t think much of it and stands up, leading her to a room away from prying ears, “I apologise we were not able to speak too much last night, it seems like my friends were far too interested in you to let the two of us talk peacefully.”

“It’s fine,” Byleth shakes her head. If anything that was great news. It meant she didn’t need to make up an excuse for why she avoided him when intoxicated, “There’s something important I need to say. Something I’ve been hiding from you. I’m not expecting you to accept it, in fact you can forget about it all of you want once I leave but I need some answers first.”

Dimitri closes the door of the room, aware that this was definitely something Byleth didn’t want anyone else to hear, “Go on.”

“Y-you’re not concerned?”

“I’m a member of the royal family,” he reassured her, “There are many things I’ve heard that I was told I wouldn’t believe normally. It would be quite the task to surprise me now.”

Despite all of that, Byleth still tenses up.

Just tell him someone put you up to it.

Just say you’re joking.

Or even that you’re a fan girl or something, anything but

“You wouldn’t be surprised? Not even if I told you that I’m an 850 year old archbishop and hero of Fodlan who was once married to the Saviour king, the one that you resemble in every possible way? Or that I’m immortal and since you and all of the other students I used to teach at Garreg Mach all came back to life I’ve been in contact with you to determine whether a group of people who once killed my father and tried to banish me out of reality are the ones behind all of this? Or that I have been blessed by the Goddess Sothis which lets me live this long but also means I don’t have a heartbeat and can erase this entire conversation in a second thanks to my time traveling abilities?”

She says it all at once before she can stop herself, holding off using her powers to rewind time to before she even asked him to come in. Like this he was bound to call her crazy and probably have her arrested. She could and wait see his reaction first at least.

Instead, he does maybe one of the least expected things she saw coming as a reaction from him.

He lets her breathe before looking to the window, “The second archbishop of Fodlan, she left something in Fhirdiad right before her death, something locked behind a wall no one could breech. What is it?”

“The legendary lance, Areadbhar,” Byleth replies automatically, “I scattered all of the relics as best as I could do no one could use them again. There’s only two people left alive who can recover them.”

Dimitri nods slowly before looking out of the window behind her, “Then there is much we need to discuss. Your apartment should be safe. I will come over whenever I can next leave this place. Until then, drive home safely. I will make sure Flayn is with you shortly.”

* * *

Byleth paces her bedroom up and down, trying her best at ignoring whatever conversation Rhea, Flayn and Seteth were having during tea time. She had more pressing matters on her mind, like whether Dimitri was going to show up at all instead of getting as far away from her as possible, and what she would even talk about when he does decide to show.

After possibly her 4th hour of pacing, she wasn’t sure, she hadn’t checked her phone for a while now, the doorbell to their apartment rings and Byleth goes for the door.

She gets to the front door before anyone else does and turns back to the other members of her family with a whisper, “Remember, he’s just here to talk so let me do the talking, okay?” Without waiting for a response from them, she opens the door for Dimitri.

“Good evening, Byleth and… Byleth’s family,” Dimitri nods at them and they all greet him.

“Would you like some tea?” Flayn asks but Dimitri shakes his head, removing his jacket and hanging it up on their coat hanger by the door.

“I doubt I will be here that long. Byleth, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Byleth nods before leading him to her room, “How did you know I wasn’t just some crazy person?” Byleth says as soon as the door to her bedroom is closed. She offers a seat for Dimitri at her desk while she goes to sit on the edge of her bed, “How did you know about Areadbhar?”

“I told you that I’ve heard many strange things thanks to my heritage. That includes family secrets,” He informs her, “The location of Areadbhar has been known for generations, even if none had access to it. I was also informed that one of the first queens of a united a Fodlan was immortal and may even roam the nation to this day. I suspected you may be in hiding.”

“I try not to parade it around, no,” Byleth informs him, “It’s a family secret then. What about Glenn, or Dedue? Have you told them?”

“No.”

“Does Edelgard know?” Byleth asks, “The Edelgard I knew didn’t even know you two were related. She was your sworn enemy. For nine long years you swore vengeance against her for killing your father.”

“I’m familiar,” Dimitri agrees, partially at least, “However... that’s your husband’s history. Not mine. I came here to study it, to gain more information from you. I might look and sound like him but... we are not the same. I only know these things as facts, not as memories.”

Byleth shakes her head, “I don’t believe that. You don’t have his memories, and maybe that’s for the best, but this isn’t coincidence. I’m not saying you two look kind of the same. You’re identical.”

“Byleth don’t-.”

“Dedue Molinaro, your loyal guard who left your employ to start his own restaurant, with the help of his close friend Ashe Ubert. Sylvain Jose Gautier became Margrave Gautier after the war and defended Fodlan against Sreng. Ingrid Brandl Galatea became the head of her house and revived the region. Annette Dominic taught at the sorcerers’ school of Fhirdiad. Mercedes von Martritz ended up living with Annette and started her own bakery. Felix Frauldarius became the leader of House Frauldarius and vowed to never send his children to war so they wouldn’t have to die like his brother did. You want to tell me every single one of these people reappearing in my life are coincidences? I saw them all die, every single one of them eventually fell to disease or even old age while I watched. That... it stays with you. So no, I don’t think I’ve started imagining it or I’m trying to see a connection where there is none.”

Dimitri sighs and looks away from her, “I believe you. I do. I do not think you’re imagining it... that being said, our lives are different now. They are our own. Besides, what good would it do to remember these painful things when we didn’t take part in them?” He stands up and goes to the door, “I need to think on this. If you truly believe someone is behind this for their own nefarious plan I will indulge and help you figure it out... but I need you to give me time.”

_And you always thought I was the more reasonable one_

Byleth stands up and puts her hand on the door before he can open it, “There’s something I would like to try. Take however long you need for it. You have my number, contact me when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting in Fhirdiad.”

“What about Flayn?” Dimitri asks, “What about your father?”

“Seteth?” Byleth asks, “Trust me, they’ll be fine without me for a few days, but I appreciate the concern. Just... remember to call me, okay?”

“Okay.”

She had to look away from him.

The way he watched her.

It couldn’t not be her beloved.

She quickly moves her hand away from the door before she can’t stop her overwhelming urge to just kiss him in some sort of fairy-tale hope that it would be enough to bring him back to her.

She knew magic really did exist.

She was also very familiar that a true loves kiss was nowhere near enough to break any kind of curse Those Who Slither in the Dark might have thrown on her, or him for that matter.

“Tell your friends I had fun and enjoyed talking to them.”

Dimitri opens the door and walks out of her room, “Yes, it seemed like they thoroughly enjoyed your company as well,” he passes by Flayn, Seteth and Rhea, all sitting in the couch and drinking tea in silence. Byleth was almost certain they’d been listening in that whole time.

She helps him get his jacket from the coat hanger and hands it over, “Good talk.”

“Er... well... um... yes, good talk indeed. Goodnight Byleth,” he nods and looks to the others, “I wish you all a pleasant evening.”

As soon as the door closes behind him, Byleth hears the familiar clink of a teacup being set down on their coffee table. She turns around and takes a seat on the armchair, “I gather you all have questions. Especially you, Seiros.”

“And I’m certain you have some of your own,” Rhea agrees, “Dimitri, does he know who you are? To him? To all of Fodlan?”

“He does now,” Byleth informs them all, “But since all of Fodlan united as Faerghus, the Blaiddyd’s have been passing down family secrets to each other for generations. Including that the hero of Fodlan is immortal and may still be alive today so... that wasn’t exactly shocking to him.”

“You trust him, I take it?”

Byleth shrugs, “Honestly? I’m not sure but I don’t regret my choice of telling him. If someone evil is behind all of this, they’re wasting their time by targeting me. I’m just a museum curator that’s getting kinda tired of being immortal. They won’t get any power from me and I doubt exacting any kind of vengeance would be fulfilling.”

Rhea furrows her brows, “And what of us? Do you not care for your words endangering us?”

“You fucked off to do your own thing countless times now, only to come back when it’s convenient for you,” Byleth snaps back, “I owe you nothing. As for Seteth and Flayn, they’re aware of what I’m doing and they have every right to kick me out and tell me to leave this city,” she turns expectantly to Seteth, who agrees with her.

“Byleth is my family now, and I will do what I can to protect her. If that includes taking responsibility for her reckless behaviour, so be it,” He says to Rhea, “That being said, the recklessness she has shown is entirely justified in my eyes. We do not have the power to investigate I’m any meaningful way, not like we did when we ruled the church and perhaps that is for the best.”

“For the best?” Rhea stands up abruptly, “The Agarthans are back and you are saying that our powerlessness against them is good? Who’s side are you truly on, Cichol?”

“Hold up,” Byleth stops the argument before it can continue further, “They’re back? How? We wiped them out... huh? Wait... that’s why you came here, isn’t it?”

“I heard you plan to meet with Dimitri in Fhirdiad?” Rhea asks in a calmer tone, “Before that happens, there is something I need to show you.”


End file.
